The Game
by moviemaniac12
Summary: Cobb, Arthur, Ariadne and Eames awake in a room, being tortured by Cobal. Soon they will be placed inside a dream. The game, is to stay alive. The results lead to life changes for the players. Rated M for violence. Arthur/Ariadne pairing
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone!**

**Before I start, I would like to explain a little about this story idea. ****Firstly, I have lots of people following my stories, for which I am so grateful, so thank you very much for that. ****The story idea basically came to me while I was watching Inception. ****When Cobb and Arthur where in Satio's dream at the beginning, Mal shoots Arthur in the leg. I thought to myself- ****"Hmm, I wonder if Mal thought that it was fun to shoot Arthur..." ****Then my idea kind of developed from there. I want to start this off and see where it goes, so if anyone has any ideas for the story or any points they would like to make, then please comment and review! This is quite a dark story, and I'm looking forward to writing it. ****Also the story will kind of switch POVS.-Just a heads up. ****Thanks for reading!**

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"FUCK YOU."

I shut my ears off from the noise surrounding me. Eames had said that for about the 12th time today.

My wrists burnt from the rope holding them back. My eyes quickly adjusted to the dim light coming from the small room, and I looked around. I don't remember how we got there. It was like everything had been erased from my brain. I woke up this morning in a small grey room, joined by Cobb and Eames, all tied down to shabby wooden chairs. I was grateful that they couldn't see my face, as I had spent the past few hours silently crying.

Eames's screaming had brought me out of my thoughts. I saw his legs failing in the chair and his voice was breaking from pain.

"I'll ask you again..."

I looked up and saw the man that had been with us all day. He was tall and bulky looking, with a deep raspy voice that made me feel sick to my core. He was dressed well, and he walked with a certain element of power. He bent down to Eames, a knife held to his throat.

"Where is he?" Eames shook his head in discust. The man sighed and struck his knife across Eames's face. His skin broke, and blood trailed down his face. I would have been sick if I wasn't so terrified. Cobb slumped in his chair, tired from the torchure. The man wondered over to me and bent down to my face, placing the knife across my throat. My heart froze, and I tried to stop myself from shaking frantically. His empty eyes stared into mine, and he smiled scarily.

"You must know." he sneered. ".Arthur." he repeated. Arthur. The name made my heart stop. Where was Arthur? I had no idea where he was. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. My throat collapsed on me, and my breathing slowed. The door suddenly swung open and the man turned and laughed.

"Never mind." he said. I wondered what he was talking about but when I turned my head, my heart collapsed into my chest.

There was Arthur, being dragged in my 2 other guys, panting and wheezing. They had obviously beaten him half to death by the state he was in. His eyes were bloodshot and tired, and his clothes where ascew and dirty. The white of his shirt had turned a deep red in places, a sight that made me gag silently. Cobb's eyes widened at the sight of the Point Man, and I could tell that he was slowly breaking inside. Eames cursed under his breath, loud enough for me to hear. The man walked over to Arthur and muttered something under his breath. Arthur was dragged over by the men, and he was tied down just like we had been. We must have looked pathetic.

I realised that this was the first time that I had seen them since the Inception, and I suddenly felt angry that something that should have been a happy moment, had turned into a nightmare. I wondered about Yusuf, and whether he was soon to be on his way. I looked up and saw the man laugh deep in his throat and grab something from his pocket. I didn't understand what it was until he held it in front of Cobb's face. It was a small but distinctive lighter. He held it up to Cobb and flicked the switch. Cobb flinched as the small flame burned in front of him. For a second, I was terrified that he was going to set the room on fire, leaving us to burn. He just laughed and flicked the lighter off and placed it in his pocket. He laughed once more, turned on his heel and left the room. The slam of the door echoed against the concrete walls.

The silence was just as painful as it would be if fireworks were going off in the room. I wanted to wait for someone to say something. I wondered if I should try to start talking, but I knew that if I tried to talk, my throat would not allow any sound to escape.

"Who the fuck is that guy?"

I turned my head as far as I could. Eames's voice was raspy and broken. I could see Cobb shaking his head.

"Cobal."

That word sounded familiar to me. He said it with such hate and fear that I acually thought he was going to burst out crying.

"They hired us to extract from Saito before the Inception. We failed. I guess they've been wanting to find us for a while now." His voice broke near the end, and he had to stop for breath.

"I'm really, terribly sorry." Eames and I looked at Arthur, who had spoken for the first time. His voice was still strong, and I couldn't help but admire the strength he had at a time like this. He stayed looking at the ground.

"This is my fault. I was supposed to take our names off the radar. They should never have been able to find us." he said, almost a whisper.

"Arthur, it's not your fault. They would have found us anyway." Cobb said.

"Cobb. Where are your kids?" I was surprised at the sound of my own voice. It was quiet and broken, and it burnt the back of my throat. Cobb looked down, and for a second, I was terrified that something had happened to them.

"With Miles. They were off on vacation when...they came and took me." he said, fading at the end.

"Where were you Ariadne?" Eames asked me. I searched my mind for an answer to his question, but nothing came.

"I don't remember."

"I knew-" Arthur was cut off by the sound of the door opening. The man walked in again, with a terrifying smirk on his face. My brain was screaming at me to do something, but I was so scared, I could barely move.

"Well, now that we are all here, we can get started." he smiled.

"Let Eames and Ariadne go." Arthur growled. "They had nothing to do with any of this."

The man laughed. "But you see Arthur...pain is sometimes more in the mind, than in the body." I knew exactly what he meant by this. He knew that it would hurt more to see Eames and I being hurt. The thought drew out any hope in my head.

"You're a fucking physco." Cobb snarled. The man looked at him and reached into his pocket. My heart stopped when he brought out a gun. He raised it into the air and smashed it into Cobb's face. The sound was a sickening crack that made my stomach turn.

"YOU DON'T TALK!" the man yelled. I jumped slightly at the sound of his voice. He turned to me, and his angry eyes scared the life out of me. He held the gun in his hand and walked over to me. I was so scared. He laughed to himself and stood in front of me.

"I've heard that the knee cap is the most painful place to be shot." he smiled. My heart picked up a pace that I didn't know existed. "Maybe you can confirm it." He said. I barely had time to scream before he shot me in the knee.

I could not describe the amount of pain I felt. It was so intense. It was like a thousand rusty nails being shoved into my leg. My knee cap smashed into pieces. For several seconds, I was blind and deaf. The room span and twisted before me. I could see people's mouths moving, screaming my name. I couldn't hear anything. I wanted to scream, but I could feel blood in the back of my throat. When I was brought back to my senses, the pain was even worse. I couldn't breath, I couldn't think.

"SON OF A BITCH!"

"FUCKING BASTARD!"

"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO!"

I heard these things being said, but I could not trace it to the speaker. I tried to speak, I tried to cry out, but the darkness overtook me.

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**Cliff-hanger! Please let me know what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey delightful readers! Thanks for all the feedback so far!**

**Here's another chapter. I spend quite a lot of time on these, so I would really appreciate some reviews. ****Disclaimer: All things to do with Inception belong to Christopher Nolan.**

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"What the fuck are we going to do?"

"Is she waking up?"

I heard Arthur and Eames talking to each other, but all I saw was Ariadne, sitting there motionless, her head slumped over her body. My head was surrounded by accusations, burning at my brain.

_It's your fault..._

_It's your responsibility to protect the team..._

_It's your fault Cobal has us here._

_Your fault._

I lost track of time about 5 hours ago. I had no idea whether it was night or day. The only light in the room was a dim lightbulb hung from the ceiling, flickering frequently, annoying the shit out of me. I could barely remember how I got there. It was all pretty quick.

I was hanging up the phone from talking to Miles, and the door went. I didn't even check who it was. I just opened the door and suddenly, I was on the ground, desperate to breath. I woke up here with Eames and Ariadne. I can't even bear to think about what would have had happened if James and Phillipa were with me.

"Cobb?"

Eames brought me out of my own head. He was staring at me with angry eyes, and I realised he must have been talking to me for a while. I looked at him slowly.

"What?" I asked. I tried not to sound rude, but somehow it came out compleatly arrogent. He looked back at me, offended.

"Sorry, but you're not the only one in a fucking mood here. We're all in this together you know." I instantly felt guilty and looked down at the floor.

"I'm sorry." I mumbled. Eames sighed.

"No it's fine. I'm just angry, I shouldn't take it out on you." I tried to smile, but it only came out as a small pathectic turn of the lips.

"What is it you were asking?"

"I was just asking how we were going to get out of this." Arthur shook his head in the corner.

"I don't think we'll even get the chance to escape by the time they're finished with us."

He was right. The man who had kept us here, who worked for Cobal, his joy seemed to be killing us as painfully and slowly as possible. What he did to Ariadne was cruel and cowardly of him, and he was probably going to do the same to us, if not worse, and make everyone watch.

Ariadne seemed to be in an unbelievable amount of pain when he shot her, and that was only the start of it. I looked over at Eames who looked horrible. His cheeks were stained red from blood, and his eyes crimson from tiredness. Arthur's body was a mess of dirt and blood, and everytime he breathed, I could see he was in pain. My ribs felt as if they were about to crack from when I recieved a painful kicking session eariler, and I could feel my heart pounding against them.

"She's waking up." I looked over at Ariadne. Her breathing had picked up slightly and her eyelashes were fluttering. She mumbled something that I couldn't make make, apart from "painful..." and "help...". Her shoulders moved back and she lifted her head up, groaning from the pain. She looked down at her leg and made a small sound at the back of her throat. I looked at her knee and felt like puking. It was a mixture of blood and ruins.

"Ariadne?" She looked up disorentated and dizzy. I looked at Eames in concern.

"Ask her a question." Arthur demanded. Eames shrugged slightly and made a thinking face.

"Ariadne, where do you go to college?"

"Paris." she mumbled.

"And who did we perform Inception on?" He asked, slightly more promptly.

"Robert Fischer." she sighed. Eames smiled.

"There's a good girl." Arthur scowled at this comment. At times it was very obvious that he liked her. Eames often made fun about it behind his back.

It took Ariadne about 5 minutes to regain herself before she was able to talk fully.

"Does it hurt?" Arthur asked her, a voice of concern. She shook her head, then nodded it.

"Yes, at first. Now it's starting to numb." She looked down. "I suppose that's not a good thing."

No, it was not a good thing. I was about to speak when we heard the sounds of footsteps approaching the door, which could only mean one thing. I felt my body tense as the footsteps grew louder and louder. Soon, the door was opened and there he was. Smiling. He looked at me, then Eames, then Arthur, then Ariadne.

"Ahh, good. You're up. I have important news." He paced the room, swiftly avoiding the chairs in which we were sitting. "You see, I've been thinking...it's a little harsh to keep you all locked up in here. I mean, the rooms so small and uncomfortable." He laughed slyly to himself. "So I'm gonna do you a favour." he looked behind him, at which point 2 men, probably the same ones from yesterday, walked in and stood still.

"Who do I want to torture first?" he smiled to himself. My heart dropped. He looked around the room, mocking us with his eyes. He looked up. "Any volunteers?"

Silence. He sighed. "Fine, I'll choose." He nodded his head towards Arthur. My head screamed at me to do something. All I did was look up in shock at him as the men picked Arthur up out of his seat. Arthur struggled and yelled abuse at them.

_Do something._

_This is your fault._

_They're going to kill him because of you._

"HE'S JUST THE POINT MAN!"

More silence. Everyone froze to look at me. I cleared my throat and repeated myself to the man.

"He's just the Point Man. I'm the extractor, I'm the reason the Satio job went wrong. If you're going to hurt anyone, hurt me."

I felt burning eyes on me, but I never dropped my gaze from the man. He laughed at me and walked closer, bending down.

"You're right Cobb." My heart stopped beating. "It is your fault, and it probably had nothing to do with these people. But the thing is...I don't care." he smiled. He motioned to the men carrying Arthur, and they dragged him out. He resumed his screaming all the way down the hall. He took one last look at us, and slammed the door behind him.

The room was silent once more. I was waiting for someone to speak, but no-one said a word.

They must have hated me as much as I hated myself right now.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey delightful readers! Thanks for all the feedback so far!**

**Here's another chapter. I spend quite a lot of time on these, so I would really appreciate some reviews. ****Disclaimer: All things to do with Inception belong to Christopher Nolan.**

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I was not going to scream. I wasn't just going to hand them the satisfaction of seeing my pain.

"You're a quiet one aren't you?"

"Fuck you."

I felt a sharp pain hit my side. The cry arose from my throat, but I swallowed it back down. I didn't want the others to hear me. I looked down at myself and saw blood spreading across my shirt. I was scared. Incredibly scared, but it's not something a Point Man can be. I needed to show that I was stronger than them.

I was also angry. The anger boiled in my veins as the images of the day flashed in my head.

Being taken from my apartment.

Beaten at the side of the road.

Seeing my team-mates hurt and broken.

Ariadne being shot.

I felt my fists curl behind me. The man above me laughed.

"Do you know why you're here?" he asked. I smiled under the blood on my face.

"Because you're a pathetic asshole?"

Another hit to the face. I heard a crack and I realised that it must have been my nose. He laughed again, and I fought the urge to jump up and snap his neck. He paced around me, stomping his size 10 feet. I felt my lungs start to break down on me, and suddenly, breathing became a lot harder.

"No. You're here, because you're the one I dislike the most."

I snapped my head up and my jaw tensed. He didn't look down at me.

"Cobb is alright, he's a skilled Extractor. Talented. Powerful." I used my arms to push myself up off the ground but I was knocked back down again by a hard fist. My ribs smashed by the contact with the floor. I winced at the sound.

"That British guy...Eames?" he asked me with an evil smile. "I've been watching his work for a while. Forgers are useful and he's one of the best." He raised his leg and hurled it onto my head. It slammed down onto the floor. I suddenly felt dizzy and sick. I leaned my head to the side and allowed the contents of my stomach to pour out. The stench hit me hard, and I heard him laugh above me.

"And the Architect." I froze. He was touching a raw nerve and he knew it. "She's average, but I can see why you work with her. Having a little too much fun Arthur?" I growled into the ground. "She might be here, in your place tomorrow."

I pushed myself off the ground, grabbing his jacket. It pulled him down long enough for me to get in a good punch. It was hard and accurate, punching him between the eyes. He cried out in pain and kicked my arm off. I laughed to myself as he staggered back. His hand was bloody and I suddenly had a smug satisfaction run through me. When he removed his hand, the feeling dissapeared. His eyes were evil and full of hate. He stormed over and grabbed my collar, cutting off my air supply. I was pushed against a wall and my back slammed against the hard concreate. He leaned his face into mine, and smiled as I struggled for air.

"You, on the other hand, are just a Point Man." He punched me in the chest, knocking any air I had left out of my grasp. "You're an unnessesary..." he punched me again. "Worthless..."Again. "Self-centered..." Again. "Peice of shit." Once more.

I couldn't breath. He had gotton a few good punches in my lungs, and I could taste blood at the back of my throat. Everything turned blurry and disorentated. He dropped me to the floor, letting me hit it with a satisfying crack. I saw his blurred figure walk out the door, leaving me to suffer.

I had to breath. I couldn't draw anything in. I knew I needed air or I would pass out, and probably not wake up from the state I was in. I stopped moving. _Come on Arthur. Breath. Just open your mouth, and breath in._

I opened my mouth and sucking in the air around me. It filling my burning lungs and filled it with sweet oxygen. I did it again. I kept breathing in until I was full of air. I felt my body regain feeling and strength. I started to feel the pain in my body return, and all the tourture from eariler had come back to me. My cracked ribs felt sharp in my chest and my face was dripping with blood. I rolled over and groaned in pain.

I knew the others would be worried. I just hoped that they would be ok. That bastard was relentless and cowardly. He was tourturing the others for no reason. I thought of Cobb's kids. They had already lost their mother. They shouldn't lose their father as well. Eames probably didn't have a family. Even if he did, I didn't know about it. He might have a girlfriend, a wife? Probably not, but even though he annoyed the hell out of me, I don't think he deserved to die. Ariadne was still very young, she had everything to live for. She should have a life. Finish college, get married...have kids. I promised myself after the Inception that I would try to contact her, maybe...meet up with her or something. I just never got round to it. Now I might never get the chance.

I didn't really have anyone to miss me if I was killed. I left my family years ago, and I had no girlfriends or...friends.

The door slammed open and I was brought out of my daze.

"You. Up." the man motioned. I dragged myself up, allowing him to grab my sleeve. "Time for you to know what pain really is." he hissed. He swung his head to the door and I saw the 2 guys that brought me here. I froze as they dragged in a screaming Ariadne. Her beautiful face was covered in blood, and her clothes were stained red. I looked at the man, my eyes angry.

"Welcome to hell." he said to Ariadne, who's large scared eyes looked up at me.

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**Cliff-hanger!**

**Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey delightful readers! Thanks for all the feedback so far!**

**Here's another chapter. I spend quite a lot of time on these, so I would really appreciate some reviews. ****Disclaimer: All things to do with Inception belong to Christopher Nolan.**

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"Ariadne, don't scream. Don't give them that satisfaction. You're far stronger than any of them." My last words broke, and I wanted to look away from her pained face, but I kept eye contact with her the whole time. Her eyes were screwed shut and she was hissing and wincing. She nodded at me.

"This is what happens when you don't do as I say." The man said, twisting Ariadne's arm behind her. She gasped loudly, tears forming in her eyes.

"For fuck's sake, stop it, you're hurting her!" I screamed. He just laughed and pulled her arm back even furthur. He was going to break her arm.

"What do you want?" I yelled again.

"I want you to suffer." My blood boiled with anger. I wanted him to make me suffer, not Ariadne. He pulled her arm back into an unnatural position. Ariadne cried out in pain. He laughed again and looked at me.

"You killed my brother." He growled. He suddenly seemed evil. I was terrified for Ariadne, who was in this angry, crazy man's arms. He smiled a sickening, twisted grin and with a simple motion, pulled Ariadne's arm back once more.

Pop.

I froze. The sickening pop of her shoulder broke through the room. Ariadne's broken scream ripped through my ears. I looked at her arm which was now in a backwards position.

"YOU FUCKING PHYSCO!" I screamed at the man. He just smiled at Ariadne's arm. I wanted to rip his fucking throat out and break his arm, but at the same time I wanted to run to Ariadne and fix her and hold her in my arms.

"I'll be back to finish this off later." He hissed. He dropped Ariadne out of his hands, just out of my reach. He walked out and slammed the door. I drew my attention to Ariadne, who was on her side, clutching her arm and wimpering.

I dragged my body across the floor to her. When I reached her, I grabbed her hand and let her squeeze the life out of it. She was shaking uncontrollably, and when I looked at her arm, my medical training kicked in.

"Ariadne. Can you listen to me for a minute?" She nodded her head, tears streaming down her face. "I know it hurts, but we're not going to be able to get you proper medical attention, so I'm going to try and fix this for you." My breaths became shorter. "Your shoulder is dislocated." I pulled her up against the wall and steadied myself in front of her.

"I'm going to try and push it back in." A small wimper of fear escaped her lips. "Hey, look at me." She raised her head slightly to be at eye level. "I'm going to try and do this as quickly as possible for you. It will hurt, but I'm right here, and we're going to do this together. Understand?" She nodded her head quickly, letting another cry escape.

"I want you to shut your eyes and hold my hand. Squeeze it as hard as you possibly can." I grabbed ahold of her shoulder, readying myself. I hoped she wasn't looking at me. I must have looked pretty fucking terrified.

"You ready?" I grabbed her shoulder tighter, and I felt her hand grasp mine. "On 3."

"1..."

"2..."

"3!"

I pushed her shoulder into the socket, and the sound of it made me nearly throw up. Her fingernails dug into my skin, making it bleed slightly. She screamed again, but only for a moment, and the sudden silence scared me even more than her screaming. I shot my head up, to see her head leaning against the wall. She was breathing deep and slow, just as if she was giving birth. Relieved, I let myself fall back against the wall, exactly as she was.

We sat there for about 10 minutes, just sitting and breathing it out. She didn't let go of my hand for the entire time.

"Arthur." She said finally. I looked over to her. "Thank you."

"Oh please. Don't thank me, this is all my fault to begin with." I sighed. She didn't change her expression.

"It might be...but you've also fixed it." She said, motioning to her shoulder with her head.

"He'll probably be back tomorrow." I said. I instantly regretted it, and I felt bad for filling her with fear. "But I'll fix you again if I need to." There was silence for a while.

"I love you Arthur. Not in that kind of movie romance way, but in the way that one person really, truly needs another. I love you all like that. But you the most." I smiled at her, and I didn't know why, but my heart sped up ever so slightly when she said that.

"Well in that case, I love you too."

"Good to know."

There was an awkward silence.

"What do you think you're going to miss the most?" I looked at her, confused by what she meant.

"What do you mean?"

"Death." she said quietly. I was a little shocked that a word so bad could come out of something so good.

"I don't know. Probably the rain." I said casually. She didn't ask me why and I was glad. Most of the time, I never had a proper answer. "What about you?"

She shrugged. "TV." I laughed. Such a typical human answer.

"I guess you're right." I agreed, smiling. She smiled too. I was about to open my mouth, but the door slammed open and we froze in unison. Her hand tightened around mine.

"Someone's all better." The man said, playing with the knife in his hands.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey delightful readers! Thanks for all the feedback so far!**

**Here's another chapter. I spend quite a lot of time on these, so I would really appreciate some reviews. ****Disclaimer: All things to do with Inception belong to Christopher Nolan.**

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"Something is horribly wrong." I said to Cobb. He shrugged his shoulders and looked distracted, probably wondering about his kids. Poor guy.

"There is no noise at all." Cobb looked up at me.

"So?" He asked, sounding slightly angry.

"Well...don't you think they would be screaming or something? I mean-"

As if on cue, a blood curling scream echoed down the hallway. It belonged to Ariadne. It was broken and full of pain. Cobb sighed.

"There's your scream." He said. I wasn't sure if he was joking but I didn't laugh. I shifted in my seat for the 100th time. I was incredibly uncomfortable, and the rope around my wrists was causing them to bleed. It was probably better to be killed at this point. No amount of medial attention could help us in time. Most of the blood on my skin had dried, but I could still feel it on me.

"Where did they find you?" Cobb asked as casually as if we were in a cafe. I shifted again.

"I was in Mombassa. I remember seeing them in the bar I was in, but that's pretty much it. They must have drugged me or something."

Another scream rippled through he hallway. This time, it was Arthur's. A shiver went up my spine. I felt a mixture of fear and relief. Relief because it wasn't me who was being tortured, but fear because I knew that I would probably be next. I had no idea why they hadn't just killed us yet. I turned to Cobb, who was letting his body fall into an uncomfortable position.

"So...what did happen between you and Cobal?"

"Eames-"

"I'm just saying I think I have a right to know, considering the fact that they're torturing us to death,"

Cobb sighed.

"Cobal came to us for an extraction. The mark was Saito. I didn't trust them very much, and Arthur told me that we shouldn't do it. I probably should have listened to him, but I was getting closer and closer to my children. Before we were going to do the extraction, Cobal told us that failure was not an option, and that we would be killed if they didn't get the information they wanted. By that point it was too late to back out. We went under, trying to convice Saito that we were training him against extractors."

Cobb paused.

"Mal told him everything. He caught me, but I already had the information. Mal shot Arthur in the leg, so I killed him. The dream collapsed, but I read the information. He had purposefully left out some of the information. But we had created a 2 layer dream. We woke up in the 1st layer, and we forced him to tell us, but our architect had screwed it up. He realised he was dreaming, and we woke up. It was after that when he came to me and Arthur about Inception. We've been running from Cobal ever since."

The room was silent. I could tell Cobb felt incredibly guilty about all of this. I looked down at the ground.

Just then, footsteps were heard from the hallway. I turned to Cobb again, who had a cold expression. The door opened, and there was the man, behind him, was a blood-covered Arthur and Ariadne. My stomach lurched at the sight of them.

"Tie them down." He instructed the other men. Arthur and Ariadne were forced into the same places they were the last time there were in the room. The man turned to one of the others, and he was handed something that made my throat close.

The PASIV.

"Today children, we're going to play a little game." He grinned.

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**Short chapter I know, but the next one will be much longer as it is kind of important.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey delightful readers! Thanks for all the feedback so far!**

**Here's another chapter. I spend quite a lot of time on these, so I would really appreciate some reviews. ****Disclaimer: All things to do with Inception belong to Christopher Nolan.**

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I stared at him, wondering what he meant. I let my eyes fall to Arthur and Ariadne, who were a bloody, angry mess. Eames was slumped over in his seat.

"You all know what this is?" He asked, motioning to the large, silver case. No-one said a word.

"Good." He nodded. He paced the room.

"I've decided I'm just going to kill you and get it over with."

My stomach lurched.

"But I was thinking, who would I kill first?" he laughed. I felt sick at his discusting humour.

"So then I had an idea...what if...we played a game?" He sighed. "Maybe it's better to explain this in a different way." He opened the PASIV and started setting it up on the floor.

"You will all be placed in a dream. One of my body guards will be going under with you. You have nothing to do, but run. The first person to die in the dream and wakes up...I kill first." he smiled.

I felt sick. This man was using something we were so familiar with. I remembered that the last time I used the machine, it was for the Inception. I wondered if any of the others had used it since then. He started to unhook the wires and needles. He grabbed Eames's wrist and slid it in. I felt the uneasy feeling at the back of my throat. He did the same to Arthur and Ariadne. They both flinched at his touch. He then walked over to me and turned over my wrist. I knew there was no point in protesting, so I let him slide the needle into my wrist, with more force than nessesary.

"Sweet dreams. I'll see you when you wake up." He smiled. His eyes were so evil, and I knew that he was not joking around. He was going to kill one of us. He hovered his finger over the button. With a small nod of his head, he pressed down, and the hissing of the PASIV took over. The room faded to blackness.

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I opened my eyes. I could tell I was lying down, because my back had an uncomfortable sensation. I sat up and realised I was lying in the middle of a road. I rubbed my head, and the feeling of freedom washed over me. My hands were free, and all the blood and pain from earlier was gone. I pulled myself off the ground, and took in my surroundings. It was Paris, no doubt about that. The buildings were familiar to me, and I recodnised it as the street I had walked down many times. The streets were compleatly empty. No people, cars, no noise at all. It was cloudy and overcast, which suddenly made my feelings of freedom and relief dissapear.

"Cobb!" I heard an agressive whisper behind me. I spun around, and Arthur was behind me. He looked himself again, a sharp suit, clean face, and no blood in sight. His face was panicked though, and he grabbed my arm with impressive force, and dragged me out of the road. We dove into a narrow ally. Arthur looked at me.

"Where are Eames and Ariadne?" He said agressively. My leader insincts took over, one of the things I had missed.

"Split up. Stay out of view, and meet back here in 20 minutes." I ordered, and he nodded. He ran in the other direction quickly. I stuck my head out of the ally and made a run down the street. My footsteps made the streets echo, and I was worried that I would be heard. I ducked against a wall and fell back to it. My breath was running short, but I knew I had to find someone before it was too late. I started to run, but I turned the corner and ran into someone. I jumped up quickly, ready to escape, but the person looked up at me.

"Jesus Cobb, that hurt." Eames cried. I didn't have time to reply, so I grabbed his sleeve and pulled him up.

"We found a safe spot." I said, dragging him across the street. Eventually, he caught his energy and started running beside me. We jumped into the ally where Arthur and I were before. Only Arthur and Ariadne weren't there.

"What the fuck's happening now?" Eames yelled. I placed my finger to my lips to silence him. We did not want to be caught now.

* * *

I ran from Cobb, trying not to be heard or seen. This dreamscape was so big, I was almost doubtful that I would find one of the others. I weaved in and out of the buildings as quickly as I could. I quickly noticed that I was back to normal. Healthy and fit, as if nothing had been done to me. I shuddered when I remembered what they actually did. I was brought out of my daze when I heard pounding. My first instint was to run, but I thought it would be more sensible if I found the origin of the harsh pounding. I crept around the corner of the nearest building.

Ariadne was there. She was trying to open a door towards a building, but with no success. I checked the roads for any signs of people, but I darted out anyway. I ran to Ariadne and grabbed her shoulder. She let out a small scream, but I covered her mouth with my hand. I turned her to face me, and she instantly relaxed. I checked her for any injuries, but she was normal. I realised my grip on her mouth.

"Come on." I grabbed her hand and pulled her across the road, weaving to the gap between the buildings.

"Where are we going?" She breathed. I turned to her.

"Where I agreed to meet Cobb. It should be safer there." I replied. We ran back the way I came, checking constantly in case there was someone following us. We hid in the alley, joining Cobb and Eames. Cobb looked pissed.

"We have no guns, nothing!" He cried. I checked in my jacket, but he was right. We had no defences what-so-ever.

"You know, I haven't seen anyone." Eames mentioned. "Do you think he was joking?" Cobb shook his head furiously.

"No, he wouldn't joke about this." he stuttered.

"How are we getting out of this?" I asked Cobb, sounding slightly angry. He turned to me, intimidating.

"Arthur, I have no idea. We have no defences, we're stuck in this dream world being hunted by this crazed maniac, and if we die, the first thing that happens to us when we wake up is that we get killed. So if you have any ideas, then please feel free to share." he growled. I thought back to the Inception when we realised that Fischer's mind was militarised. Cobb's tone felt the same as it was then.

_This was your responsibility, we are not prepared for this type of violence! _

I stood back from him. Everyone else had grown silent. Eames coughed awkwardly.

"We're just going to have to wait." he said. I turned around and saw Ariadne leaning against the wall. She was avoiding eye contact.

"Do we even want to wake up?" Ariadne asked in a small voice. We all turned to her in unison. Eames laughed slightly, but it was forced.

"Why do you say that?" he asked.

"Well, it's almost peaceful here. No torture, no pain. Up there, it's...different." She mumbled. Cobb sighed.

"She's right." he said. I sighed and rubbed my nose with my thumb and forefinger.

"We just have to survive for as long as we can. People will eventually realise that we're missing." he added.

"We can't survive here forever Cobb!" I yelled. I saw Ariadne jump and Eames look up at my sudden outburst. I walked towards Cobb.

"Don't for one second think that we can just hide here. There are people after us! They will kill us!" I yelled at him.

"Arthur, we just have to be careful." He said gently. I threw my arms in the air out of frustration.

As if on cue, the city echoed with gunshots. Eames jumped up. Cobb turned to us.

"Go!" he screamed. I grabbed Ariadne's hand, and we ran. I looked behind us and saw several people with guns, shooting at us.

"Don't get yourselves killed!" Cobb screamed, but I could barely hear him over the sound of bullets.

"Split up!" Eames yelled. I let go of Ariadne's hand for one second, and when I tried to reach back for it, she was gone. I turned around, to find myself alone. I heard the people running closer, so I ran. I had no-idea where the others had ran to, but I sprinted furthur and furthur away. Soon the sounds of guns and yelling were gone. I looked up, hoping to see someone, but the streets were silent.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey delightful readers! Thanks for all the feedback so far!**

**Here's another chapter. I spend quite a lot of time on these, so I would really appreciate some reviews. ****Disclaimer: All things to do with Inception belong to Christopher Nolan.**

**

* * *

**

"Arthur!" I screamed. I knew I should have been quieter, but I was desperate to find someone. I was all alone in the dream, following the empty streets of Paris. My throat burnt from screaming, but I tried again.

"Cobb! Eames!" I cried again. I had let go of Arthur's hand for one second, but he was gone. One second was all it took.

I ran in and out of the buildings, not stopping in fear of being found. Eventually, I dove into the narrow space between buildings to catch my breath. I collapsed onto the wall, gulping down air. Occasionally, I would hear footsteps, and I would find myself ducking behind a trashcan. It always turned out to be water pipes or something of that nature. I took a moment to look over myself, but I found no injuries. I couldn't escape the memories of what happened up top.

_The shiny, silver knife digging into Arthur's chest._

_The sharp pain of slashing against my face._

But most of all, it was the screams of pain we made. The cries rung out in my ears, and wouldn't go away. I buried my head into my hands. I felt warm tears fall down my cheeks. I was acting like such a child. For all I knew, someone could be in trouble. As much as I wanted to be brave, my body stayed rooted to the ground.

I had always felt safe with the others, convinced that if anything happened, we would be able to get out of it. This time, it was different. Cobal was playing with Cobb and Arthur's weaknesses. I never really knew about the Cobal situation before I met them.

It then struck me, that I knew nothing about the others. Nothing at all. They could be being chased by hundreds of other companies like Cobal. I didn't even know Arthur's last name! I didn't know about families, where they lived, their history...and they knew all of mine. I had been stupid, and willingly gave out all this personal information about myself. They are technically criminals.

I quickly became ashmed. Arthur, Cobb and Eames were my closest friends and I was freaking out about hanging with them? God, I felt stupid.

At that moment, a bullet hit the side of the trashcan, causing a loud crash. I jumped up, and from around the corner came a man, one of the men from reality. I wanted to scream, but nothing came out. He saw me, and I ran down the alley, jumping out of the corner. I heard 2 more gunshots and a loud snap. Suddenly a sharp pain shot up my leg, and I collapsed on the concreate. I cried out in pain.

I looked down at my leg, where there was a hole, which seemed to be pouring blood. I gasped at the pain, and realised I had been shot. It had obviously missed the bone, but it hit a nerve perfectly. I heard the man running after me to finish the job, so I tried to drag myself out of his path. When my leg dragged across the ground, the pain returned. I heard the man's footsteps approach closer.

The fear in my body was worse than the pain. I dragged my legs up to my face and curled up into a ball. I was going to be the first to die.

"Ariadne!"

I heard a sickening crack and a crash. There was what sounded like a shuffle of feet, then silence.

"Ariadne. It's me." Arthur's smooth voice trailed in the air. I looked up at him, and noticed it started to rain. The little drops of water were cold, and I started to shiver. I tried to get up, but I gasped when I put weight on my leg. Arthur caught my arm and grabbed my waist.

"Arthur, wha-" I looked down. The man who shot me was on the floor. His neck was at a strange angle, and my stomach lurched. Arthur had killed him. Arthur looked at me with cold eyes.

"It was quick. Pain-free. Even though the bastard didn't deserve it." He muttered under his breath. His head suddenly shot around the city, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Whats-" He dragged me against the side of a building, propping me up against the wall. I was getting pretty tired of having my sentences cut off. He stood in front of me, looking confused.

"I killed him, so why isn't the dream collapsing?" he said. I didn't reply. He looked down at the ground.

"Projections." he looked at me. "There must be more." He bent down and sat next to me. He looked at my leg, and while I winced at the sight of it, he kept his expression the same.

"You alright?" I looked away, angry. He looked confused again, and tried to grab my hand. I snatched it away to his dismay.

"No. Look at my leg Arthur!" I snapped. He moved his head back slightly.

"Ariadne, I killed the projection before he could get to you." he replied. He was clearly defending himself. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah? Where were you before that! I was screaming your name for somewhat 20 minutes!" I yelled. He looked annoyed.

"Ariadne, I was trying to find you!" he retaliated. He grabbed my hand again, quick enough that I didn't have time to pull away.

"I let go of you for 1 second and you were gone!" He said, this time with more anger. I became scared at that point. His eyes were suddenly empty, and his usually smooth, calming voice was replaced by something much darker and heartless than I ever could have imagined.

"I fought for you up there Ariadne! I defended you, and fixed you when you were broken. How dare you as me where I was!" He stopped then, letting himself breath.

There was a moment of silence then. Not awkward, but uncomfortable. I listened to his breaths.

"I'm sorry." I said. He looked down.

"It's ok." he said. He looked down at my bloody leg.

"I don't know what we're going to do about that." he mumbled. I sighed.

"It's just a dream."

"It'll probably kill you if we wait long enough." he hissed. After I winced, he shook his head.

"Sorry." He stood up and grabbed my shoulders, lifting me up. I swung my arm around his shoulder, which would have made me blush, if not for the circumstances.

"We should find the others." he said under his breath. I nodded, and he gave my hand a quick squeeze before we started walking.

"I wish I had a gun." Athur said. I wasn't sure if he was making a joke or not, but I laughed anyway.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey delightful readers! Thanks for all the feedback so far!**

**Here's another chapter. I spend quite a lot of time on these, so I would really appreciate some reviews. ****Disclaimer: All things to do with Inception belong to Christopher Nolan.**

**I wanted to do something a little different with this chapter, and it's kind of Eames-centric. I hope you enjoy and review.****

* * *

**

_"Where are you going?" She asked._

_I shook my head. I wasn't exactly sure where I was going, but I couldn't stay there any longer. I grabbed my wallet and started searching for my car keys. Actually, if I was being completly honest, my parent's car keys._

_"I'm leaving." _

_"You're leaving me."_

_"No. I'm just leaving." I looked up at her. Her beautiful red hair bounced slightly, and her bright green eyes quickly became damp. I looked back down again, knowing that if I looked at her any longer, I wouldn't be able to go._

_"I have a job offer in Mombassa, I'll write. I promise." _

_"Why are you going now?" She asked, approaching me. Her voice was breaking slightly._

_"I really can't stay here anymore." I grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "If I stay any longer, then I'll be tied down forever." She looked down and her face became serious._

_"What?" I asked, worried._

_"I'm pregnant."_

_

* * *

_

"Cobb?" I yelled. The rain was heavy now, and even if someone was around, I doubt they could hear me. I paced the sidewalk quickly, as it wasn't safe to be out in the open. Dreams became less amazing the longer you were in them.

I looked up and saw something very familiar through the rain. It was a building, but it was old and run down. I squinted to improve the sight, but I decided to walk closer. I reached it and looked up.

It was the warehouse in Paris. The one we had used to prepare for the Inception.

Something about it seemed comforting, and I felt a bit happier. I stood there for a while, but I remembered that I had to find the others.

"Arthur? Ariadne?" I called. Nothing happened, no reply or anything.

I paced the front entrance of the warehouse, wishing I had a key. Shelter would have been nice at this point. At that moment, I heard a...car engine?

I turned around, and speeding down the road was a large black van.

"Shit." I muttered to myself. I ran to the doors of the warehouse, slamming myself against them. The engine was becoming louder, and I soon heard gunshots from the van. I slammed my fists against the large doors. I felt my fists nearly cracking under the pressure.

"OPEN! OPEN!" I screamed into the doors. I heard one of the bullets hit the side of the building, while the van was becoming dangerously close.

* * *

_"...What?"_

_I looked down at her stomach. Pregnant. A couple of tears fell down from her face. My hand dropped from hers._

_"I'm pregnant. 6 weeks." My stomach lurched. She pressed her hand against her stomach._

_"I'm keeping it."_

_I sat down on the side of the bed. We rented this small flat, convinced that eventually, we would have enough money for a house._

_"Please don't go, not now." she begged. My heart broke. I sighed and let my head fall to my hands._

_"I...I can't handle this. Pregnant?" I repeated. She nodded her head and sat down next to me._

_"Stay. I just want you to see it. Please." See it? I shook my head._

_"I'm...I'm not a dad. Jesus Christ Jess, we're only 20!" I said._

_"Please don't go." She said again. She wrapped her arm around mine, locking me to her. I never wanted to leave her. I was completly in love with her._

_"I love you." I buried my face in her hair and let a few secret tears fall._

_"I can't stay, as much as I want to. It's not you, or this kid. I have a job to do."_

_

* * *

_

"OPEN!" I screamed again, and the door flung open. I felt a hand grab my shoulder, pulling me into the darkness of the warehouse. I jumped up to shut the door, but the person inside slammed it shut and locked it. I exhaled.

I suddenly realised that I was not alone. I reached forward and slammed the stranger's body onto the ground. They spluttered and tried to get up. I smashed my foot down onto their chest, pinning them to the floor.

"EAMES! IT'S ME!" A familiar voice said.

"Shit, Cobb are you alright?" I asked, pulling Cobb up from the ground. He bent over, breathing heavily. He nodded.

"Nice tackle." he smiled. I nodded and gave a look around. It was pitch black, apart from the small beams of light seeping from under the doorway. I felt along the wall to find the light switch. When I found it, I flicked it on, forcing the bright light to make an appearance. I blinked and adjusted my eyes to the harsh light. I looked around. Eveything was the same as we had left it. There were still a few stray papers on the desks, a leftover cup of coffee on one, and an abandoned garden set.

"How did they know about the warehouse?" Cobb asked suspisiously. I shrugged and sat down in the nearest chair. Cobb copied and we both sat in silence for a moment. I sighed.

There was a question I had wanted to ask him for a while.

"Cobb?"

He looked up. "Yeah?"

"...What's it like...being a father?"

He leaned back in his chair for a moment, and breathed. He was thinking carefully about his response.

"It's a pain in the ass. They're noisy, naughty, immature and silly at times. They never listen to me, and they always talk back. I'm not a very good father sometimes, and they call me out on it." He sighed, then smiled. "But they are my absolute world. I love them so much, and I know they look up to me. I would do anything to make them happy and safe. I don't think I would ever be happy without them."

I sighed. That was the answer I was dreading. "Oh."

He looked confused. "Why?"

"No reason."

* * *

_"I'll come back.__" I said into her lips. She murmered back something I couldn't understand, but I didn't care. I pressed my lips onto hers again. She wrapped her hands around my neck, and I gently pressed my hand onto her stomach._

_"When I'm done with this, I'll come back to you and the...baby. I'm not running away from this Jess."_

_She nodded her head. I stood up and walked to the front door, dragging her hand behind me. I turned around and gave her one last kiss. It was quick, but so sweet. I pressed my forehead against hers, breathing her in._

_"I'll be back, I promise." I said, before walking out of the door._

_That was 5 years ago. One of the thousands of promises I've broken, but it's the only one that really mattered._

_

* * *

_

A smash against the door snapped me and Cobb awake. We ran to the door and blocked it with our bodies.

"IS ANYONE IN THERE?"

"OPEN THE DOOR PLEASE!"


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey delightful readers! Thanks for all the feedback so far!**

**Here's another chapter. I spend quite a lot of time on these, so I would really appreciate some reviews. ****Disclaimer: All things to do with Inception belong to Christopher Nolan.**

**Hi everyone, thanks for the reviews! Would you like me to continue the whole Eames's past thing? Or shall I move on and leave it at that?**

* * *

"It's Ariadne and Arthur!" I screamed, pushing Eames out of the way. I swung open the door and they fell into the warehouse.

"Thanks." Arthur mumbled, while Eames had an amused face.

"No problem Point Man."

I looked at Ariadne, who was examining her leg. I was going to ask why, but then I saw the blood stained mess covering her. I looked at Arthur.

"What happened?" I said, bending down, examining the wound.

"She got shot in the leg."

"Is the bullet still in there?" Arthur went silent for a moment.

"I think so."

I looked at Ariadne, who didn't seem so bad with the pain. She looked more concerned. I looked her in the eyes.

"We're going to have to remove it." She swallowed.

"Fine." She said, her voice was brave, but I had a feeling it was forced. I looked down at her leg, figuring out where to start. She raised her hand, a motion to stop me. I looked at her confused.

"Can Arthur do it?" She asked. I nodded and looked at Arthur. He looked reluctant, but he nodded quickly and switched positions with me. I was slightly relieved that I didn't have to go poking around in Ariadne's leg. Eames was watching intently, but I motioned for him to turn away. We walked into the next room and sat down. He started to laugh to himself. I looked at him, slightly angry.

"Is this funny to you?" I asked, motioning to the next room.

"No." He said, still smiling. "It's funny that when you let me in here, the men chasing me just drove past! As if I wasn't even here!"

I frowned at him. "So?"

He laughed again. "They're playing with us Cobb. It's just one big game."

I was about to speak, but Arthur opened the door, pale in the face. His hands were bloody.

"It's out." he said. His voice was strong, but he was a little shaky. I looked at Eames.

"Eames, go watch Ariadne."

He nodded and walked out, shutting the door behind him. I motioned for Arthur to sit, and I grabbed a dirty cloth by the sink and threw it to him. He started cleaning his hands, angrily.

"Why does she always assume that I will be able to help her?" He muttered. I shrugged and shot him a sympathetic look.

"She trusts you."

"Yeah, but what if one day, I won't be able to help her?" He said, throwing the now-red cloth onto the ground. I smiled to myself.

"You always will Arthur. You love her." He looked at me, his mouth slightly open. He looked like he was about to say something, but he decided not to deny it.

"Eames seems to like her too." He joked. I laughed.

"Eames likes anything with a pulse."

He smiled. "So...what now?" He asked. I quickly became serious.

"I have no idea. I was thinking of just...getting it over with." He looked at me confused. When he understood, he shook his head angrily.

"No Cobb."

"It would be better for all of us."

"You're not going to die, just for our sakes. What about your kids?" He said, getting angry. I felt my heart drop at the mention of my children. I pictured their faces, happy and innocent.

"If I die, they go to you Arthur." He froze. His chair fell back slightly when he jumped out of his seat, becoming more angry by the second.

"Cobb, I can't...have your kids." He said quietly. "I wouldn't know what to do! I'm not a...father figure." He winced at the words. I smiled slightly at his nervousness.

"Arthur, Mal and I decided this a long time ago." He forced a laugh. "We knew they would be safe with you."

I suddenly had a vision of Phillipa and James playing in the garden, laughing and smiling. I could picture Arthur playing with them, just as happy as they would be. He would be more relaxed, more care-free than he ever has been. Ariadne would be there too, adoring and admiring the children. They would have a proper family. My heart sunk slightly at the thought of leaving them again, but I knew that if I ever did, then they would be protected and loved by people that I trusted.

"Jesus, Cobb." He muttered, shaking his head. His head shot up to look at me. "I'm still not letting you kill yourself. We can find a way out of this."

I nodded. "Fine. But if things get worse, then I'm ending it." He looked down at the ground, shuffling his feet awkwardly.

"So...why me? Why not Miles or any other family members?" He asked. I shrugged again and sighed.

"I guess...you were the closest of all those people. I mean, Miles lives in Paris, all other family is either dead or far away. So you were the closest friend we had." He smiled at the ground. "Also, the kids trust you. They would be comfortable with you."

He laughed quietly, and I started to think that he was beginning to like the idea of getting the kids. I laughed with him, but it ended quickly.

"Well...thanks?" He said.

"No problem." There was a comfortable silence for a moment, and Arthur motioned to the door.

"Shall we check on the non-potentional guardians?" he joked. I smiled and nodded, following him out to where Eames and Ariadne were.

They both had serious faces on, and Ariadne looked slightly angry. I felt Arthur's mood change next to me, and Eames quickly changed his expression to something more relaxed. There was awkwardness for a while, until I decided to break the silence.

"So...how's the leg?"


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey delightful readers! Thanks for all the feedback so far!**

**Here's another chapter. I spend quite a lot of time on these, so I would really appreciate some reviews. ****Disclaimer: All things to do with Inception belong to Christopher Nolan.**

"You alright darling?" Eames asked me as he was walking over. I lifted myself into a chair, wincing at the pain.

"Yeah." I sighed. He grabbed the chair next to me. He had a small smirk on his face.

"So...when are you and Arthur going to get together?" I said. I felt my cheeks flush, and I shot him a look of death, fearing that Arthur would hear from the next room. He smiled.

"Never." I replied. He actually looked quite shocked.

"Why?" he asked with genuine curiosity. I shrugged and looked at the ground. I felt like a school girl discussing her latest crush.

"Because he hates me." Eames looked confused. "He's my best friend one day and my worst enemy the next. I don't understand anything about him. I don't understand anything about you or Cobb either."

He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "My story is not the type of thing you want to hear. Not today anyway. I could tell you something about Arthur...but he'd hate me forever." I raised my eyebrows.

"Eames, he hates you anyway." He laughed, but it was cut short. "Please Eames. I'm starting to feel uncomfortable with all this." I begged. He sighed again and leant back in his chair.

"Fine." I leant on the table, ready to hear Arthur's story.

"I met Arthur, way before I met Cobb. We were working on a job, and we kind of...stayed in touch afterwards." He paused. "Arthur was going out with this girl. Maria. She was nice, but kind of stubborn, like Arthur. I guess that's why he liked her so much." Eames looked at me, looking for signs to stop, but I was rooted to the story. "Anyway, there came a time where Arthur...fell in love with her."

I felt a pang of jealousy run through me. Eames gave me a sympathetic look, but continued.

"Maria wanted to stop dreaming and have a normal life with Arthur, but he couldn't give it up. He wanted to continue too much. He had made quite a name for himself in the buisness. Maria wouldn't stop without Arthur, so she continued too." He sighed. "One day, Arthur went to Maria's house. He found her body. She had been killed. No-one ever found out who, but it was definately foul-play. Arthur went into hiding for 4 months. No-one could find him. When he came back, he seemed fine, except he was very...different. It might be hard to believe, but he used to be like Cobb, always taking chances and risks. When he came back, he was more like you know him now. Very planned, unwilling to take risks in anything. He would have nervous breakdown everytime I tired to talk to him about Maria. He told me that the day he went round to her house...he was planning to propose to her."

The room fell silent. My brain and heart were racing with questions. I felt horrible for asking Eames about this, I felt like I had invaded his privacy. I knew something so personal about him, something that defined him. I could picture Arthur and this beautiful woman, and I felt my heart break. That was why he was so strange with me. He had fallen in love with a girl before, and had her taken away from him. This was why he was so closed off all the time. I felt dissapointed that we would never have that chance.

God, how selfish was I being? Arthur had such an unhappy bookmark in his life, something that had effected his entire future and his past. He had been broken, and I was worried about how this was going to effect me? I felt a wave of guilt wash over me, and I looked down at the ground.

The door swung open and Arthur and Cobb walked out. Eames and I must have had strange expressions on, because Cobb and Arthur looked one look at us and froze. The warehouse was silent for a while and it became awkward. Cobb shuffled and spoke first, breaking the silence.

"So, how's the leg?"

I nodded and looked down at my leg, which was now letting the pain desend into numbness. Arthur came and sat next to me, offering a small smile. I smiled back, but I looked for the emptiness in his eyes.

"Well...do we just wait?" Eames asked. Arthur nodded and looked up at the ceiling.

"We wait until something happens." He added.

"Define 'something'" Eames said, only to be met by Arthur's annoyed gaze.

"Eames. Something means anything." He replied. I laughed at Eames's stupidity.

"What time do you suppose it is?" I asked, and Arthur shrugged.

"I have no idea." he replied.

Eames sighed and stood up, stretching his arms in the air, and letting them fall to his sides.

"Maybe we should-"

He was cut off by a strange sound. He gasped for air, and doubled over, almost as if he'd been punched.

"What the fu-" His body was knocked off the ground, and was sent flying backwards, hitting the wall and falling to the ground. Arthur, Cobb and I jumped up out of our seats and looked at him. Cobb approached his panting body.

"Eames, are you-" The same happened to Cobb. He groaned as an invisible sensation hit him in the stomach, sending him onto the ground with a sickening thud.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey delightful readers! Thanks for all the feedback so far!**

**Here's another chapter. I spend quite a lot of time on these, so I would really appreciate some reviews. ****Disclaimer: All things to do with Inception belong to Christopher Nolan.**

Ariadne and I looked down at the ground where Eames and Cobb were lying. Cobb lifted himself up with his arms weakly, and groaned.

"Must be coming from up top."

"Up top?" Ariadne asked. Her voice was strained and I couldn't tell whether it was fear or pain from her leg. I turned to her, gently.

"They're doing something to our sleeping forms. It causes turbulance down here."

"What if-" She was cut off by her body flying backwards, sending her to the ground. She gasped for her air.

"Ariadne!" I yelled. I fell onto the ground, grabbing her shoulders. I pulled her up, but I was knocked back down by an invisible force. It hit my stomach, like a gust of wind, knocking the air out of me. I was pushed back into the ground, cracking my shoulder. I was stunned for a moment, unable to move.

I had a desperation to get to Ariadne. To help her. I forced myself up despite the seering pain in my stomach. I jumped up, grabbing the side of the table for support. I glanced over to Eames and Cobb, who were collapsed on the floor, doubled over in pain.

"Make it stop!" Ariadne gasped.

"We can't control it!" Cobb yelled, backing himself up against the wall. I grabbed Ariadne's hand, pulling her off the floor. I stood up, only to be knocked back down by the same, dominating force. It winded me and I felt my stomach collapse. When I regained my breath, I looked up. It was silent, and nothing was happening. The others were regaining themselves, catching their air. Eames looked up.

"Is that over and done with?"

We were still for a couple of minutes, waiting for some signs of release. Soon, it was compleatly silent. Cobb pulled himself up against the wall.

"Yes, for now."

I pulled myself up again, and bent down to help Ariadne. I pulled her up, but let my hand linger on hers for longer than nessesary. She quickly pulled it back, and gave me a cold look. I looked down at the floor, confused. I hadn't done anything to upset her, so why was she suddenly acting so cold with me?

"Ariadne?" I asked. She looked down at the floor dissmissively, ignoring me. Cobb and Eames were in the corner, talking, so I took the moment to ask her what was going on.

"Ariadne, have I done something to upset you?" I asked quietly. She shook her head.

"Then why are you ignoring me?"

She looked up at me, and her face was almost sad.

"I'm not ignoring you." I shrugged and laughed angrily.

"Well it sure seems like it. You know Ariadne, I never did any-"

"Eames told me about Maria."

I froze. Maria. Her image came back to me, the sound of her voice. The image of her body lying on the floor of her house, covered in blood.

"He...what did he say?" I growled. Eames, of all people would know not to tell Ariadne about Maria.

"He told me that you loved her. You were different than you were now. More wild and willing to take risks. He told me that you saw her...body after she'd been killed." She looked down. "He also said that you were going to propose to her."

I inhaled. I wasn't mad. I was upset. Did Ariadne not trust me enough to talk about these things? I sighed out and rubbed the temble of my nose.

"Ok, first of all...yes, I loved her. But it wasn't the type of love you're thinking about. I wasn't going to propose to her." Ariadne looked up at me, confused. "I was going to...break up with her. She was my first, real love, young and naive. It was never going to last. It's compleatly different from how I feel for..." I stopped talking, and looked down at the floor.

"Oh." she said in a quiet, voice. It was almost a breath.

"And secondly, if you ever want to talk about anything, whether it's about me or anyone else...then talk to me."

She smiled at me. I walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her. She tensed for a moment, but quickly relaxed and hugged me back. She probably thought I wasn't the hugging person. I smiled at this idea. Eames and Cobb walked over and I felt Ariadne pull away. I reluctantly let go.

"Bloody hell, I'm hungry." Eames moaned. Cobb sat down and let his head fall back. I looked at his eyes and noticed they were red and tired. It was the same for Ariadne and Eames, and the realistion hit me of how shit we looked.

"There's not much we can do about that Eames." Cobb said, raising his eyebrows.

"It's alright, it's not as if you can conjour up a feast." Eames joked, giving him a weak smile.

"Maybe we could-"

There was a loud pounding sound at the door. It was loud and forceful, making the warehouse shake. We jumped out out of our seats and backed away from the door.

"They've found us." Ariadne stuttered. There was another bang, and this time, the door shook.

"They're trying to break in." Cobb whispered.

There was another bang, nearly knocking the door off it's hinges. The glass of the windows shattered, and I ducked my head to avoid being cut. The noises caused my heart to pound so hard, I could hear it in my ears.

"We need to leave! Now!"


	12. Chapter 12

Hey delightful readers! Thanks for all the feedback so far!

**Here's another chapter. I spend quite a lot of time on these, so I would really appreciate some reviews. ****Disclaimer: All things to do with Inception belong to Christopher Nolan.**

Arthur turned to Cobb, and I watched the door as it slowly started to be knocked down.

"Where's the back door?" He yelled, over the loud banging. I covered my ears, and saw that Ariadne was doing the same. It sounded as if they had a tank or something outside.

Cobb ran through the warehouse, motioning for us to follow. Arthur grabbed Ariadne's hand and dragged her behind him, leaving me. I started at the door, wondering if I should take my chances and try to distract the outsiders trying to get in. After a quick debate, I realised that it was best to run. I followed the others, sprinting to keep up, and we were hushed by Cobb, and taken to the back door. Cobb pulled on the handle, swinging it open. We jumped outside and slammed it behind us. It took me a minute to realise that we were in a small alleyway. I looked up and saw a ladder, climbing up the next building.

"Up is out!" I cried, pointing to the ladder. Cobb looked at Arthur, and then nodded. I climbed on to check it's stability, and after confirming it's safty, I motioned for the others. I climbed up and looked down. Ariadne was behind me, followed by Arthur, then Cobb. I looked at the ground and suddenly felt sick. Now was not the best time to allow my fear of heights to take over.

"How long is this fucking thing?" I said to myself. I was getting tired of climbing, and my arms were becoming sore. I stopped for a bit, and hung from the fire escape ladder, holding on with one arm. I looked down and saw Arthur giving me the evil stare he has.

"What are you doing? Keep going!" He growled. I rolled my eyes.

"I'm getting a bit tired, love." I replied. I saw him look down and mumble something to Cobb, who looked just as aggrivated.

"Eames, you can rest when we get to the top." He said. I sighed and continued climbing. When I finally reached the rooftop, I turned around and lifted Ariadne up. When Arthur reached the top, I looked at him and turned away. I heard him growl behind me and I just laughed to myself.

"Thanks." He muttered, straightening out his clothing. Cobb lifted himself up onto the roof and sighed.

"That was close." He turned to Arthur. "Arthur..."

Arthur suddenly froze, and his face contorted into what I could only descibe as anger.

"No. Not now."

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Cobb, you can't do this to me."

"Arthur, it's better like this."

"Better like what?"

"No, you're not going to do this. We can work this out."

"NOT GOING TO DO WHAT!" I yelled. Cobb and Arthur looked at me, and Ariadne jumped slightly. Arthur kicked the floor with his shoe, angry.

"Cobb wants to kill himself. He wants to end this."

Silence. Cobb sighed and shuffled his feet. Arthur, angry, walked away from him, turning his back in the process. Ariadne looked slightly shocked.

"What?" She said, quietly.

"Look, this is dangerous for all of us. I want to end this, kill myself. They'll let you go after this." Cobb said, slowly, as if we were pre-school children. I shook my head.

"Cobb, that's not a good suggestion." He turned to me, angry.

"Then what is? We'll keep running, hiding, until they find us and kill us all. I'm ending this, and not you, Arthur or Ariadne, is going to change my mind."

Ariadne stepped forward, looking annoyed. "What about James and Phillipa?" She asked, folding her arms. Arthur turned around, more calm this time.

"If something happens to Cobb, I get his kids." He said quietly. I had to admit, this was a sensible desicion. If anyone was cabable of taking care of the children, it was Arthur.

"Look, Cobb...it's your choice." I said. Arthur shot his head at me, and growled. Ariadne looked at me, also angry. Cobb looked shocked, if not relieved. I continued. "If you want to end this, then that's a brave desicion, far braver than any of us. But you should stop and think about whether it's worth it."

Cobb nodded, looking down at the floor. Arthur walked away, and Ariadne followed him. I left Cobb alone, and wondered across the rooftop, kicking my shoes as I went. Part of Cobb's choice was a good idea, not to mention honourable, but it was also the stupidest idea I had ever heard.

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_"Eames, you either want the job, or you don't." Cobb said to me. I knew I was supposed to go home. Jess must have been 6 months pregnant now, and I hadn't seen her since I left. There were a couple of phone calls, a few letters, but no contact. I wanted to see her and my baby when it was born. I looked at Cobb, desperate._

_"There's a lot of money Eames, I'm not going to keep this offer open." He said. "Whatever's back home, it can't be that important."_

_I looked down. Important. I felt like scum. I never should have left them. _

_"Fine, I'll do it." _

_"Exellent. Fly to Barbados tomorrow and meet me at this address." He handed me a small piece of paper. "Don't let me down Eames."_

_I made a desicion that day. After Cobb left I deleted her number off my phone. I threw away our old address. I got a new phone number so she couldn't reach me. I had convinced myself that it was for the best, it was safer for her and the baby if I just left them alone compleatly. It took everything I had to stop communicating with her. I knew that I could never see her again if I started the job. _

_I broke my own heart. Along with hers._


	13. Chapter 13

Hey delightful readers! Thanks for all the feedback so far!

**Here's another chapter. I spend quite a lot of time on these, so I would really appreciate some reviews. ****Disclaimer: All things to do with Inception belong to Christopher Nolan.**

**For the scene on the rooftop, look at the Inception poster, where they are all on top of the building. That's the general idea.**

It was dark quickly, and soon we could barely see anything on the streets below us. It was quiet, and I found the mood to be quite awkward. I couldn't understand Cobb's decision at all. I couldn't understand why he was so willing to kill himself. To leave his children. The thought that he wanted to be with Mal entered my mind, and the words were repeated in my head.

_...To be half of a whole..._

I shook that idea from my mind, and decided to talk to him. He was quiet, but not sad. He seemed to be thinking things over in his head.

"Cobb?" I asked. My voice was quiet, and I suddenly felt like a kid. He looked at me and forced a quick smile.

"Yes, Ariadne?"

I cleared my throat. "Please don't kill yourself for us."

"Ariadne, I know it sounds stupid and rash, but I know what I'm doing. I'm responsible for this team, and it's my fault your all here in the first place." He sighed, looking at me, with a stern face.

"Cobb, your children. They've lost a mother, don't let them lose their father as well." He flinched slightly at what I said, but I didn't take it back. I meant for it to hurt him. I wanted him to see the truth behind his choice.

"I don't want to make this choice, Ariadne! If it were up to me, I'd be with my kids right now, but I'm not. Life is a random string of coincidences, and we're always going to have to make decisions that we don't want to make. I wish with all my heart that we weren't here right now, but we are." He said harshly.

"Fine." I growled. I walked away from him and went over to Arthur, who was standing with his back to Cobb. He had a stone look on his face, and I suddenly felt uncomfortable walking up to him.

"I think we should move." He said. "If we stay in one place for too long, they'll find us." He continued, staring off the building. His eyes were scanning the dark city, searching for what may have been a safe place. I nodded.

"Makes sense." I said, quietly. He nodded and turned to me.

"I don't like this anymore than you do. Cobb's my oldest friend, and I hate to see him like this. But the guy knows what he's talking about." He said.

"What?" I asked, a combination of confusion and shock.

"If he thinks something is for the best, then he's probably right. People live and people die, some with a bit more honour than others. Cobb is willing to die for us, and while I hate that idea more than I can explain, there's no way we can stop him once he's made a decision." He said, getting quieter as he progressed. He looked at the floor, while I just looked at him, in slight horror at what he was saying.

"So...you're just going to let this happen?" I asked. He nodded.

"I don't want to. I really wish that I could stop this. But Cobb makes his own choices, and he sticks to them." He said. I sighed, angry and turned away from him. I was expecting him to respond, but he stayed quiet. This was insane. Cobb was going to kill himself, and no-one wanted to stop him. Arthur cleared his throat.

"We should move down to the alley, there's a dead end but there's plenty of room to hide between the buildings. Over there." He said, loud enough for us all to hear. Eames turned and looked at Cobb, who nodded approvingly. Eames sighed.

"Well. There's no time like the present." He said, surprisingly preppy. He jumped over the side, grabbing the railings of the fire escape with his hands. I must admit, it looked very cool, and James Bond-ish, but I avoided pulling the trick myself. Arthur climbed down after me, followed by Cobb. The metal railings shook and echoed with everystep, and it was an imense effort to keep quiet, but we reached the bottom, undetected by projections.

"Where are we going?" Cobb asked Arthur.

"Just follow me." He replied, wondering around the corner. I felt a slight fear as we wondered through the streets, open to projections, but it seemed quiet, so I began to feel more comfortable.

"I'm beginning to wonder where the projections are." Eames said. Arthur shushed him, but Eames shrugged it off and continued.

"No, seriously, I mean, it's all a bit...quiet."

"No, seriously Eames, shut-"

There was a small click. I swung around and saw nothing. I turned back to see Arthur, Cobb and Eames frozen, staring ahead of them. I let my eyes wonder to the space where they were looking, and I felt my stomach drop. There was a man, the exact same man from up top.

Holding a gun up. I felt like running, and screaming at the others to hide, but fear paralysed me into one spot. The man said nothing, he just smiled. A sick, twisted smile. He let his eyes roam us, choosing who to kill first. His mouth opened, and he muttered the two, most horrifying words I have ever heard.

"Game over."


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey delightful readers! Thanks for all the feedback so far!**

**Here's another chapter. I spend quite a lot of time on these, so I would really appreciate some reviews. ****Disclaimer: All things to do with Inception belong to Christopher Nolan.**

**I really has issues with this chapter. Someone needed to die, but I had no idea who...**

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It all went so quick. There was nothing I could do. The sound of the gun rang in my ears as I stared down at the blood covered body below me.

A life was ended so quickly, and technically, they hadn't even been killed yet. The death they would recieve up top would be much more humiliating.

I wished it was me. So badly. I wanted the ground to swallow me whole and spit out the pieces.

I should have taken the bullet.

I felt my heart break and eyes water at the sight of this mangled, pained body. Breaths were still coming out of their mouth, and I knew that I wouldn't be able to stop it.

I heard the shuffling of feet around me, but everything went so slowly.

There were voices around me, full of panic and fear.

How could this happen?

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**...SO I'M GOING TO LET YOU DECIDE.**

**I know that was mean of me, but I honestly cannot decide who to kill. **

**I'm making a poll. The character with the most votes has to die. Please vote!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey delightful readers! Thanks for all the feedback so far!**

**Here's another chapter. I spend quite a lot of time on these, so I would really appreciate some reviews. ****Disclaimer: All things to do with Inception belong to Christopher Nolan.**

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I watched, horrified as he raised his gun to Ariadne. Time went slowly, and I saw the glimpse of evil in his eyes before he pulled the trigger. I heard the shot ring out, and I made a fast decision. I don't know what caused me to do it, but it felt like instint. Ariadne was not going to die. I reached out my arms, pushing Ariadne forcefully to the side. I threw myself where she was standing, and froze for a second. The sharp bullet hit my stomach, causing a quick, intense pain.

"ARTHUR!" I heard Cobb cry. I fell to the ground, clutching my stomach. The concreate beneath my head hurt at the contact, but it was nothing compared to the pain of the shot.

I looked to the side, and saw Eames grabbing the man's arm, snatching his gun in the process. He quickly raised it to his head, and pulled the trigger, sending the man's body to the floor. I looked down at my hand, and saw my warm blood seeping through the material of my shirt. Bad day to wear white.

"Shit, Arthur, are you ok?" Cobb yelled. His voice was louder, and I looked over to the side to find him on the floor, crouching next to me. Ariadne was behind him, a mess of shock and fear.

"Why did you do that?" She cried, angrily.

"Call it...a...personal scarifice..." I panted. I knew I would be dead soon. Eames was quickly by my side, inspecting the wound.

"Ariadne, scarf." He said quickly, not looking up. She tore her scarf from her neck and handed it to him. He was working quickly, but I shook my head at him.

"Eames...leave it. Someone...had to...die...eventually." I said, forcing a pained smile. Eames sighed and collapsed on his knees.

"It didn't have to be you, Arthur. I was willing to do this a long time ago." Cobb growled. I shook my head again.

"No...it was always...me. He wanted...me to die...anyway." I breathed, wincing. Cobb shook his head angrily.

"No." He simply said. I turned to Ariadne, who was now shaking.

"Hey...you..." I smiled. She let out a quick laugh, but it was more angry than happy. I tried to position myself differently, but I groaned in pain whenever I moved.

"Don't move, you idiot." Eames said, as serious as he could be in the situation. I raised my hand and saluted him with a rude gesture. He laughed and returned it.

"Cobb...it hurts...can you?" I asked, pointing to the gun, laying on the floor. Cobb looked at it and hissed as if it were a poisonous snake. He looked at me again. I needed him to end it for me.

"Please." I begged, taking in quicker breaths. He sighed and leaned over, grabbing the weapon in his hands. Ariadne whimpered slightly when he reached for it. He looked at me and positioned the gun towards me.

He looked me in the eye and smiled.

"Not today, Point Man." He said. I gave him a confused look, but he looked up. He quickly raised the gun to his own head and pulled the trigger.

"COBB! NO!" I screamed. It was too late. He was now on the floor, dead. A pool of blood was surrounding his head. Eames choked on his own air, grabbing the gun from Cobb's cold hands. Ariande cried between breaths, shaking violently at the sight of the body next to her.

Cobb had killed himself. For me. He was awake now, being killed. I screamed in anger. He had left his kids, his life, all for a stupid, fucking Point Man.

Now...I was responsible. I had to be the one to tell his kids. I had to look after them now. They were my responsiblity.

"Wha...how...wh..." Eames stuttered.

"Oh God." Ariadne muttered, letting her head fall into her hands. I looked back to where Cobb's body was, to find nothing. He was already gone.

"He...killed himself...for you." Eames said, quietly.

"I know." I whispered.


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey delightful readers! Thanks for all the feedback so far!**

**Here's another chapter. I spend quite a lot of time on these, so I would really appreciate some reviews. ****Disclaimer: All things to do with Inception belong to Christopher Nolan.**

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Arthur groaned as he tried to lift himself up, but Eames pushed him back down, shaking his head. I could not stop the image replaying in my head. Cobb killed himself, and so quickly, without hesitation. I could not imagine doing anything that brave, even for my best friend.

"What do we do?" I asked. It surprised me how shakey and broken my voice sounded.

"Now that Cobb...you know...they'll probably time the PASIV. We should be awake in maybe an hour?" Eames said, without emotion. Arthur nodded, and it suddenly came to my attention how frail and sad he looked. It frightened me. If Arthur, the most put together person I knew, was like this, then where was the hope for the rest of us?

"Oh." It was the most pathetic sound I have ever made.

There was a small part inside of me that still hoped for Cobb's safety.

But the rest of me knew he was dead.

"Arthur, let's take a look..." Eames said, lifting up Arthur's shirt to reveal a bullet wound. The sight made me gag. His entire side was stained red. Arthur smacked his hand away, angrily.

"What's...the...point?" He growled. Eames frowned.

"To stop the pain, shit-face, I'm not going to let you suffer." He replied, mumbling under his breath. Arthur turned his head to the side.

"There's no point. We're...going to wake...up soon. I deserve...all the...pain I get before then." He groaned.

"Arthur, it's not your fault." I said, reaching out my hand. He flinched away, and I pulled my hand back, wincing at his rejection. Eames shook his head, stood up, and wondered around aimlessly. I looked at Arthur, who was staring at the ground. The blood surrounding his perfectly white shirt was spreading, and I held back the instinct to hold him back and clean it up. Arthur always looked so effortlessly perfect. Seeing him crumpled and messy was almost disturbing.

"Arthur. Can you please let one of us sort that out?" I begged, gesturing to his wound. He shot a mad look at me.

"What do you...care?" He sneered. I quickly grew angry. I stood up and looked down at him, frowning.

"I care about you Arthur. A hell of a lot more than you care about yourself right now." I grunted, angrily and turned around. I was about to walk away, but I felt something warm surround my hand. I turned around and saw Arthur looking up at me, pleadingly. I looked at my hand and saw that he was gripping it tightly. I saw strains of blood surround my hand, but I didn't pull away.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled. I sighed and sat down again.

"Yeah, well...you're forgiven, I guess." I replied, half-heartly, and he gave a faint laugh.

"So...are you...going to...help me out?" He asked, motioning to his bloody stomach. He was wearing a smile so sly and sexy, that I almost got angry again. Instead, I smiled back and tended to his seeping stomach.

I've never been good with blood, but I could make an exeption for Arthur. I tried to make it as pain free as possible. When I had finished, I sat next to him.

"So...I hate to ask. But, Cobb's kids..." I said. He sighed.

"Cobb told me that he wanted me to take care of them." He said. I nodded.

"And you don't think you can do that?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. This guy could do anything.

"No." He looked at me, suddenly so innocent and helpless, that I was slightly taken back. "I'm not a babysitter, Ariadne. Or a father. I can't help those kids as much as I could help Cobb...I've never felt so alone."

I had never seen Arthur so helpless. It was like talking to a 5-year old who had done something wrong. I suddenly felt like an adult.

"You're not alone, Arthur. I'm not leaving you like this." I said, grabbing his hand.

"Really?" He asked, hopeful. I nodded.

"Truly."

At that moment, the buildings around us started to crumble, and the ground started to shake. Forgetting that we were dreaming, I clutched onto Arthur's hand.

"It's alright. The dreams collapsing." He said comfortingly. I nodded quickly and buried my face into his shoulder, squeezing my eyes shut. I felt his fingers run through my hair once, before the ground gave out from under us, sending us into darkness.


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey readers!**

**WOW. Over 100 reviews! Thanks a lot. I'm starting to lose my mind a bit, with all the work I have, along with all this. So thanks for all the reviews!**

**This chapter upset me a little. It's short, but it's leading up.**

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I opened my eyes, and found the room to be surprisingly messed up. Everything seemed fuzzy and dizzy. I was surprised to not find Ariadne attached to my arm. I quickly looked down at my stomach, and saw nothing but cuts and bruises from earlier.

I looked up to the others and saw Ariadne looking a little shaken up. Even Eames was breathing a little too heavily than usual. I smiled, relieved to be in reality once more. I suddenly remembered.

Cobb.

I glanced behind me, where his chair usually was, but to my horror, the chair was turned into it's side. Cobb was nowhere.

"Oh no," I whispered. I felt around the back of the chair, finding that my hands were still tied together. Tightly. "Shit!" I yelled, becoming more frantic.

"Hang on, hang on." Eames said calmly. He dragged his chair behind mine. I felt his hands fumble around the rope, tugging at different parts. He finally pulled on the knot, releasing my hands instantly. I jumped up and ran to the door, desperate to find Cobb.

"HEY!"

I turned around, seeing Eames's angry face.

"Help us." He commanded. I looked at Ariadne, who was looking back at me with scared eyes. I looked at the door desperately. Every cell in my body was screaming at me to find Cobb, to see if he was still alive. But my head was crying _"Help them. Help Eames. Help Ariadne." _

I sighed and ran back to them. I grabbed Ariadne's hands and started un-tying the rope which held them in place. She turned to me, and I grabbed her head in my hands. I looked at her eyes and shortened the space between our faces.

"Help Eames. I have to find Cobb." She nodded frantically, and I ran out of the door, searching for some sort of sign of life. It took me a minute to realise where I was. The hallways were long and drab, and if it wasn't so dark, I would have thought that we were in some sort of mental institution. There were multiple rooms, but each one of them seemed to be locked. I grunted in frustration everytime a door refused to open.

I pushed open on one door, and nearly fell to the ground when it swung open. I bent down to take a breather, but I froze.

My breath choked in my throat.

I pressed up against the wall to stop myself from collapsing.

My eyes stung with salty tears.

There, lying on the floor, was the dead body of Dominic Cobb.


	18. Chapter 18

**Hey readers!**

**Thanks for all the great reviews! Sorry it's been so long, but I'm trying to balance it out with school work.**

**New chapter. I think Arthur is a little out of character in this chapter, but it's understandable considering his grief.**

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Eames was ahead of me, walking swiftly down the hallway to find Arthur. I knew he was looking for Cobb, but honestly, I had lost hope that we would find him alive.

"Arthur, where are-"

Eames froze and stopped talking. He was staring into a doorway, with the strangest look on his face. His eyes were wide but his jaw was tight. It was a mixture of emotions. I ran behind him, and had to stand on my toes to see above his shoulder.

Arthur was leaning against a wall. Crying. I looked at Eames, but he was staring in a direction away from Arthur. I looked at his point of view, and felt an upchuck begin in my stomach. Cobb was lying in a mangled position on the floor. His whole body was covered in blood and dirt, and his face had lost all colour. His eyes, that were usually full of emotion and feeling, were empty and bloodshot. He looked so broken and innocent, which was a strange sight, as he was usually so strong and alive. I knew he was dead. There was nothing in his body. It was just a shell of Cobb. A shade.

Eames ran in and grabbed Arthur's shoulder.

"We need to go," He said, quickly but softly, as if he was saying it to a child. Arthur nodded slowly.

"We should take him with us," I said, pointing to the carcus of Cobb. Eames looked at me sympathetically, while Arthur just stared at the body.

"You know we can't. It's too complicated. How are we going to explain this without becoming suspects?" Eames said. Arthur turned to me.

"We're supposed to lie low." He turned to Eames. "But she's right. We can't leave his body here."

Eames sighed and weighed the choices in his head. He looked up. "Fine. We'll burn it."

I looked at him as if he had said the most horrific thing in the world. Arthur nodded, and bent down over Cobb's body. Eames grabbed something from the inside of his pocket, a lighter. I looked at Arthur, who was bent over Cobb, whispering into his ear. I couldn't hear what he was saying, but it ended quickly, and he reached into Cobb's pocket, carefully. He pulled out something, but before I could look at it, he folded his hand over.

"Right," Eames said. He flicked the switch on his lighter, causing a small but bright flame. He leant over, and hesitantly held it onto Cobb's shirt. It took a second, but soon the flame was spreading over the material of Cobb's clothing. I turned away quickly, refusing to watch. I felt a hand on my back, pushing me out of the room. I turned around and Arthur was standing behind me. Eames walked out, and shut the door behind him.

"Let's go," he said, walking a little faster than usual.

I suddenly felt a wave of loss hit me. Cobb was dead. That was it. Nothing would ever bring him back. How could someone who had made such an impact on my life dissapear so quickly? I didn't even know how they killed him. It could have been quick and painless or long and tortured. I think I knew the answer.

I felt a need to vomit. I felt my stomach churning and the back of my throat burn. I swallowed it back down and held it back.

Arthur was holding the back of my jacket the whole time we were walking. Soon we had found an exit. It was surprising to walk outside. There was air and sound, but no light. It was pitch black. It must have been after midnight. I could smell smoke from the building behind us, but I never turned around the whole time. Nor did Eames or Arthur.

We just kept walking.


	19. Chapter 19

**Please keep reviewing! It keeps the story going.**

**Disclaimer: Christopher Nolan is the genius behind Inception. Not me.**

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_2 Weeks Later..._

"Miles, what do I say?" I asked, avoiding eye contact with the older man. His driving was good, but the speed was incredibly slow. He was nice enough to pick me up from the hospital so I kept my mouth shut.

Eames had left the hospital a couple of days ago as his injures were minor, but Ariadne had to stay for the rest of the week. I felt bad leaving her, but I needed to go to the kids.

Oh god, the kids. The sudden image of Cobb's dead body flashed through my head. I squeezed my eyes shut to erase the image. Miles cleared his throught before he spoke.

"Whatever you feel is suitable. I don't think James really understands the situation. So young," He said, eyes on the road. I bowed my head guiltily.

"And Phillipa?" I asked. He shrugged his shoulders.

"The same as when Mallorie died. Young minds heal quickly." He said slowly. I nodded. Miles was wise and kind, but I never wanted to be in this situation with him. He was strong spirited, much like Mal.

"I don't know if I can do this." I whispered. The car quickly pulled to a stop, forceful enough to throw me forward. I looked over at Miles, confused, but he was still, staring at the road ahead of him.

"Look Arthur, I'm going to be brutally honest with you," He said, turning to me. "When I first met you, I wasn't particularly fond of you. You were too young and niave to go into this buisness. Too disorganised to be a Point Man. But you learnt. You grew from a stubborn teenager into a strong willed young man. If anyone can do this, it's you." His mouth turned into a small smile at the last words, and he turned his attention back to the road and started driving again.

Miles said the right things at the right times, but still, my anxiety hadn't passed. How was I supposed to look after these kids, take over the role of parent or help them grow up? Cobb always found it so naturally.

I was partly responsible for Cobb's death. I was the reason that these kids now had no parents.

"I took care of all the paperwork while you were in the hospital," Miles said, snapping me out of my thoughts. "You just need to sign a couple of things."

"Thank you." I mumbled.

"Jacqueline and I will visit of course. Anytime you need anything, just call," He added, bringing the conversation to a close. The car slowed down as he pulled up outside the house. I opened my door and stared up at the familiar design. I felt sick as I remembered all the times I had come here to visit Cobb.

"Breath." I felt a heavy hand on my shoulder, leading me to the front door. I straightened my tie, even though I had no idea who I was trying to impress.

"Who's with the kids?" I asked, staring at the large wooden entrance.

"Child psychologist. She's been checking up on them for the past few day, even though I keep insisting those children are not suffering of any type of depression," Miles said, slightly annoyed. I found this annoying too. Did these people think that talking about their parent's deaths non-stop would make it any easier?

Miles slid his key into the lock and pushed the door open. The house was neat, and the familair smells and feelings of the house came flooding back to me. A woman, who must have been in her late 40's came walking in, dressed impecibly. It was hard to believe that this woman had anything to do with children. She looked strict and reminded me of my 4th grade science teacher. I suddenly felt sorry for James and Phillipa for having to spend days with this woman.

"Mrs Carter, this is Arthur," Miles said, gesturing to me. I held out my hand and smiled politely. She returned the shake, but I got no smile.

"Nice to meet you," she mumbled, looking through her papers. "So...Arthur. Do you have a last name that goes with that?" She smirked.

"Johnson." That was a lie. She nodded.

"Ok, well the children seem stable. No abnormal behavour, just a little...sad." She said. I felt discusted. Of course they were sad. Both of their parents had died so suddenly and left them with no-one.

"Anyway, I must go, but here's my number if you need anything." She handed me a little white card. "Nice to see you again Miles," she said as she walked out of the door. I looked at Miles and scrunched up the card in my hand, letting it fall to the floor. Miles smiled at me and held his hand up, gesturing to the living room door. I nodded and walked to the living room. I rolled to a stop when I saw them.

James was on the couch, holding a small toy in his arms for dear life, while Phillipa was on the floor, drawing. Miles coughed and they both looked up at me.

"Say hello to-" Miles stopped when both of the kids jumped up and ran to me. I bent down and threw my arms around the small bodies.

"Hey guys." I whispered. There was nothing else to be said. All these kids wanted was someone to hang onto. I felt small, warm breaths on my shoulder as I was smothered in hugs.

"Arthur, I have to go, call me if you need anything." I heard Miles say behind me. I looked behind and nodded. As soon as I heard the door shut behind me, I picked up James and Phillipa in my arms and carried them over to the couch.

"Are you guys alright?" I asked as I sat them down next to me. James kept his arms around my torso, but Phillipa released her grip.

"Where were you yesterday? And the day before?" She asked. I felt my heart flutter at her high soprano voice.

"I was in the hospital." I replied slowly. She turned to me and gasped, turning her mouth into a small 'o' shape. Her eyes were blue, the same shade as Cobb's. I ignored the image of his body.

"Are you ok?" She asked. I smiled at her and nodded.

"Just a few bumps and bruises, I'm fine now," I reassured her. James looked up at me.

"When's Daddy coming home?"


	20. Chapter 20

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I froze. I literally felt my heart being ripped in half. James was staring up at me with his big blue eyes, and I choked on my own words. How do you describe to a 2 year old that his father is dead? I looked at Phillipa, but she was distracted with her colouring.

"James. Daddy...isn't around anymore," I whispered. "Daddy is...de-" I sighed. I looked at the window to see the sky was becoming darker. "Bedtime."

I picked James up in my arms and grabbed Phillipa's hand. I couldn't bring myself to look them in the eye when I realised I would be doing this everynight.

"Where do you sleep Phillipa?" I asked as we walked up the stairs. She skipped around the corner and I saw which room was hers. It was obvious, considering the door was bright pink and covered in brightly assorted stickers. I stood outside her door, holding James. I shuffled my feet awkwardly, wondering what to do.

"Um...goodnight, I guess," I mumbled. She stood there, staring up at me.

"Night, Arthur," She said sweetly, and she leaned forward and hugged my leg. I couldn't help but smile at her innocence. She walked into her room and shut the door behind her. I looked at James, who was yawning.

"Where to?" I asked him. He pointed to the door next to Phillipa's, which was less decorated. It was a lot messier though. I stepped carefully over all his toys to reach the bed. I placed him down gently and watched as he climbed under the covers, which surounded him.

"Goodnight James." I smiled, as I turned away from him.

"Arthur, where's Daddy?" I heard a small voice behind me say. There was that feeling again. The ripping of the heart, the lump appearing in the throat. I looked down at the ground, wondering what to say. I heard a small sniffle, and I swung around quickly. James was sitting up, wiping his wet eyes.

Oh God, please, no crying.

I quickly sat down on the bed next to him. "No, James, don't cry," I begged. His eyes just produced more tears, and he made small noises at the back of his throat.

"I want Daddy."

I felt small tears well up in the corner of my eyes.

"I do too James. But he's gone. He died." I choked, letting the tears fall. James looked up at me.

"Like Mommy?" The image of Mal's eyes before she shot me during the Saito job ran through my mind.

"Yes. Like Mommy."

"But who's going to look after us?" He asked, a mixture of fear and confusion. I let out a laugh at his expression.

"I am!" I said, picking him up and placing him on my lap.

"So...you're going to be our new Daddy?" He asked, wiping his eyes. I shook my head.

"No. I could never be your daddy, James. I will look after you though, I promise." I sighed. "Daddy didn't want to leave you. Some things just don't work out the way we want them to. Do you understand?" I asked him. He nodded at me, slowly.

"Ok. Get to sleep and we can talk about it more in the morning." I placed him back down in the bed and gave him another quick hug.

"Goodnight." His small voice whispered.

"Goodnight," I said, wiping the tears from my eyes. I shut the door behind me and sighed. How was I supposed to deal with this everynight? I jogged down the stairs and wondered into the kitchen. I began making a cup of coffee, but gave up, deciding that I should probably get some sleep. I sat down on the couch and let my head fall into my hands.

Damn it Cobb, why did you have to do this to me? It should have been me that died. You should be here, with your kids, putting them to bed. I couldn't do this. These kids needed someone who knew how to do this stuff. Why did he think that leaving the kids to me would be a good choice? I soon felt my eyes becoming heavy, and I let myself fade into the much needed darkness.

I woke up to hear crying from upstairs. I swung my head around to look at the clock next to me.

_3.21am_

The cry from upstairs became louder, and I jumped up from the couch. I grabbed my jacket and pulled out the gun from the inside pocket. I ran to the stairs and sprinted up, knowing something was wrong.

I slowly approached Phillipa's door and clicked my gun back. If anyone was in the house, they would not leave in one piece. I pushed open the door slowly, but saw nothing. In fact, I saw nothing. Phillipa was not in her room.

I felt a moment of panic wash over me and I ran in to her bed, pulling back the sheets. She was nowhere.

"Phillipa?" I said, slightly louder than nessesary. I ran out from her room and stopped dead in the hallway.

There, standing in her nightgown, with her stuffed animal wrapped in her arms, was a tear stained Phillipa Cobb.


	21. Chapter 21

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I sighed and quickly tucked the gun at the back of my waist. I grabbed Phillipa and lifted her into my arms.

"Phillipa, what's wrong?"

She sniffed and cried, but she didn't reply to my question.

"Hey, Phillipa, calm down or you'll make yourself ill," I said, walking back into her room. She wiped her nose and threw her arms around my neck.

"I had a nightmare," she wimpered.

"Why didn't you come and get me?" I asked, placing her in her bed again.

"When I have a nightmare, I go into Mommy and Daddy's room, but no-one was there."

I froze. Did these kids want me to cry? I sighed and rubbed my forehead.

"I'm sorry Phillipa. I know I'm not a very good person to look after you." She shook her head.

"No, you're fine. I like you," she admitted. I laughed and sat against the wall to face her.

"Who's going to look after us next, though?" she asked, sniffing again. I looked confused.

"What do you mean?"

"Mommy and Daddy died, and they said they loved us very much. What happens if you die?" She asked, starting to cry again. I swear, anything that these kids said was just a way to break my heart. Without prompt, she jumped out of her sheets and sat on my lap.

"Phillipa, I promise, I won't die or disappear. I'm here to look after you," I promised. I stroked her blonde hair which reminded me so much of Cobb's.

"You're just saying that," she said bluntly.

"No, I swear. Phillipa, I was here when both of you were born, I love you both because you are my family. I look out for my family."

"Promise?"

"Promise." I layed her down on her bed and tucked her sheets over her. "Now, get some sleep, we're going somewhere tomorrow." I smiled at her.

"Where?" She asked, letting her eyes fall. I chuckled at her expression and walked over to the door, yawning.

"To see my friend. She's in hospital and she needs the company." I turned the lights off and double checked that she was tucked in.

I needed to see Ariadne tomorrow. She was the only person who could help me right now.

* * *

I opened my eyes to the familiar bright light. My body was stiff and sore, but better than it was. I glanced over to the bed next to me and remembered that both Arthur and Eames had left. I quickly became lonely, and soon, the only sound I could hear was the squeaking of nurses shoes and beeping of machines. There was that brief moment of peace before I remembered why I was acaully there. The image of Cobb's dead, blood-covered body filled my mind, and I pressed the help button on the side of my bed. Soon, the same nurse that I had for the past week was in my room.

"Morning, hun," she smiled. She was nice, but she was a lot preppier when Eames was around. Probably due to the constant flirting he had created. "Can I get you anything?"

"Can I have some water please?" I asked, and I realised how dry my throat actually was. She nodded and walked over to the water despensor in the corner and returned with a cup full of the much needed drink.

"Any visitors today?" She asked as I drank. I shrugged.

"Hopefully." I smiled at her. "I don't know who would come all the way here just to see me."

She raised her eyebrows. "I can think of someone." She pointed down the hall. I leaned over and smiled. There was Arthur, looking perfectly put-together as always. He seemed to be talking to someone, but I couldn't see that far.

"Have a nice time!" The nurse laughed before leaving the room. Arthur soon appeared at the doorway. He looked perfect. A little tired.

"Arthur! How are you? How are...the kids?" I asked, sitting up. He smiled and sat down in the chair nearest to the bed.

"God, Ariadne. I really need your help." He let his head fall into his hands. "I can't handle these kids. They're so confused. I can't look after them, and to be honest, I'm a little pissed off that Cobb left me with them." He quickly looked up, eyes wide.

"Oh, God. I didn't mean that...I meant.." He sighed. I nodded at him.

"I understand. You're wondering why it was you, and not anyone else."

He nodded. I sighed. "Well, I think that you are going to to a great job. It just takes getting used to. Cobb obviously thought you could do it, and the man knew his shit."

Arthur looked at me and quickly became serious. "Thanks. Can you help me though? Just for a while. Come and stay at the house when you're discharged."

"Sure. I don't have anywhere else to go. Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

There was a moment of awkward silence. I sighed and readjusted my position on the uncomfortable bed. The walls of the hospital were too white, and often the bright lights gave me headaches. I saw no reason why I had to stay here, wasting my time listening to nurses and doctors about my injuries. I would rather be somewhere else, somewhere were I was more distracted. Where there was no time for me to stop and think about Cobb.

"James? Phillipa?" Arthur called, snapping me out of my thoughts. I looked at the door and saw two little kids appear. James was small, blonde and bright blue eyes. I would have imagined that Cobb would have looked like this as a child. Phillipa was taller, and was also a spitting image of Cobb, but her stance and posture was far too elegant, like a ballerina. I imagined that this would be from Mal. I smiled at them, but they seemed shy, and James ran into Arthur's arms, burying his face into his shoulder.

"James, don't be shy. This is my friend Ariande," Arthur said. Phillipa looked up at me, a vision of childlike innocence.

"Hi!" She squeeked.

"Hi!" I imitated.

"Ariadne's staying with us for a while. As soon as she gets out of the hospital," Arthur said as he tried to release himself from James's tight grip. I don't know what Arthur was so worried about, these kids seemed to love him.

"Good." I looked at Phillipa and smiled. She seemed to be pretty normal for a kid whos just lost their second parent.

"Anyway, we've got to go. These guys have got to go to school."

Arthur stood up and let James hang from his neck after giving up the battle for personal space.

"Aww," Phillipa moaned. Arthur raised his eyebrows.

"Come on, say goodbye to Ariadne."

"Bye!" Phillipa squeeked.

"James, be polite," Arthur scowled. James looked at me from the corner of his eye.

"Bye." It was so quite, it was nearly a whisper. I smiled at him and gave a small, awkward wave.

"James, I have some things to teach you about being a gentleman." Arthur looked at me. "I'll come back later."

"Bye," I smiled.

"Bye."

Soon they were gone, and the silence and loneliness returned. The images of Cobb and the warehouse came back to my head.


	22. Chapter 22

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_"You know, you can always come down here."_

_"Yeah, no, I'm fine."_

_"Eames. Be honest with me."_

_"I just...can't get those images out of my head, Arthur. It's just...his body..."_

_"Yeah I know. I keep seeing it too."_

_"It'll fade in time I suppose. How are the kids?__"_

_"Fine, considering the circumstances. There's crying at night, but it's pretty tame."_

_"Good. Anyway, must go."_

_"You sure you're alright?"_

_"Yeah. See you soon."_

_"Bye Eames."_

_"Bye."_

I flicked the off button on my phone and let it fall to the floor.

No, I was not alright. It was the same thing everyday. I would wake up, see nothing but Cobb's fucked up body, and sleep, reliving the nightmare of those few days.

I shook my head and took another sip of the sweet, amber liquid.

At least I wasn't Arthur. He had been left with Cobb's kids, with no experience of how to look after them. Imagine having to deal with those questions.

Where's Daddy?

How did he die?

Is he ever coming back?

Arthur had all that to deal with. Poor bastard.

But in that sense, he had something to keep him busy. I had to sit here all day, by myself. With nothing to do but think. I saw him everywhere. In the street, in my room. Not dead, but healthy. That was probably worse. Seeing someone that didn't exist anymore.

He was a good person. Cobb gave himself up for his best friend. Even I couldn't do something like that. He had things and people to live for, but he gave that all up. He was brave and a nice guy, one of the best I'd worked with.

I sighed and stood up. I had to do something.

I grabbed my suitcase and started throwing a random assortion of clothes. There was no organisation to the process, but I was sure Arthur had more important things to worry about that what I looked like.

* * *

A 12 hour flight later, I was standing outside the front door, lighting up a cigarette. I knocked on the door. The house was nice, and I suddenly thought about whether spending the next few days in Cobb's house would be the best thing to do. The door opened and Arthur was standing there. I raised my eyebrows.

His shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, and his hair was looking slightly messed up. It was the most casual I had ever seen him. He looked quite happy, acually. An unusual sight when observing a Point Man.

"Eames?" He asked, smiling. He stepped aside and gestured for me to come in. As I stepped in, he snatched the cigarette out of my mouth. I stared at him, annoyed.

"No smoking in the house." He smiled.

"Where have you been smoking then, Mr Perfect?"

"Outside." He winked.

"Look, sorry about this," I said, rubbing the back of my neck. He shook his head.

"Eames. It's fine. Ariadne's here too. Maybe it's best if we're all together for a couple of days."

I nodded. I heard laughter coming from the other room.

"Come in, make yourself comfortable," Arthur said, kindly. This guy was fun to tease, but at times there was really nothing you could do to him. He was a nice bloke.

I walked into the living room and looked down. On the ground were two little kids that were the spitting image of Cobb. The girl had a pretty face, and she looked kind of like Mal. Sitting next to them was Ariadne, who jumped up and threw her arms around me.

"Eames! Are you ok?" she cried.

"Yes, I'm fine. How are you, darling?" I asked, trying to release myself from her grip. She pulled back and smiled, with some relief.

"Good, considering the circumstances." I nodded. I looked down and saw the two children looking up at me. Oh god, I wasn't good with kids.

"Umm...hi." Oh, the awkwardness.

"James, Phillipa, this is Eames," Ariadne said. She turned to me and smiled gently. "I'll be right back." Ignoring my expression, she turned and left the room, leaving me with the children.

What was I supposed to say? Oh, hi kids, I used to work with your dead father, who by the way, I saw shoot himself! Fuck me.

"So, um...what are you doing there, then?" I asked, kneeling on the floor. The younger boy looked up at me, with the same blue eyes as Cobb.

"Playing with my toys."

"Oh yeah. Those are some decent looking toys."

He gave a satisfied smile. "Thanks!"

Well that's one kid I'm getting along with. I looked at the little girl and saw that she was sitting on the sofa, staring at her feet.

"Working hard or hardly working?"

She looked at me with a furious frown that made me laugh. Usually the woman that gave me that look were...well...slightly older.

"Leave me alone," she groaned and jumped down from the sofa. As she stomped out of the room, Arthur entered, staring after her.

"Phillipa, cut the mood! Now!" he cried.

"Wow, she is a lovely young lady," I smiled. He sighed and picked up James.

"She is, normally. It's just...one of those days."

"Wait till the teenage years."


	23. Chapter 23

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Nothing hurts more than when someone says they hate you. Trust me. Especially when that person is a 6-year old girl.

I was sitting outside with Eames and Ariadne, confident in the children's ability to play quietly while I caught up with my friends. Guess I was wrong.

"Arthur..." I heard a small whine behind me, and I turned my head to see James standing there awkwardly.

"Yeah buddy?"

"Phillipa hurt me."

"You got hurt by a girl?" Eames asked, almost laughing. Ariadne shoved his arm.

"Eames, shut up. How did she hurt you?" I asked, bending down to pick him up.

"She hit me, here," here said, point to a spot on his arm. Sure enough, there was a small red mark, that would eventually bruise. I sighed.

"Ok, let me talk to her. Sit with Eames and Ariadne." I placed him down in my chair, leaving him to what would hopefully be a suitable conversation. I walked through the house and into the living room, where Phillipa was sitting on the couch, her arms crossed angrily.

"Phillipa, did you hit James?" I asked, in my strictest voice.

"No," she said, a little too loud than nessesary.

"Don't lie to me."

"Fine, I hit him!" she cried, jumping down from the couch. It must have looked funny, a small girl standing up to me like this.

"Why?" I asked, folding my arms.

"Because he was annoying me."

I sighed. "Phillipa, you can't resort to violence everytime something bugs you."

"You can't tell me what to do," she mimicked. I quickly became angry. She had been acting out like this for a past few days, and it was getting on my nerves.

"Yes I can. Do as I say," I snapped, angrily. She didn't back down.

"You're not my Daddy!" she cried, hitting a raw nerve. I bent down and grabbed her arm. It must have been a bit too hard, but at the time, I didn't care. I drew my face closer to hers, and every word came out like a hiss.

"No, I'm not, and I'm glad. Who would want a spoilt brat like you?" My face quickly fell at what I had said. How could I say something like that to her? I felt evil and cruel and I wanted to take it back.

"Phillipa, I'm so-"

"I hate you!" she screamed. I let go of her arm and let her run out of the room, leaving me to stare at the floor.

Yeah, I hated myself at that point too.

* * *

"They've been gone a while, should I check on them?" I asked Eames.

He shook his head and adjusted himself in his seat, uncomfortably. James had decided to sit on his lap, and soon fell asleep, leaving Eames to deal with his drink and cigarette with great skill.

"Phillipa's been acting strange lately," I added, staring into the garden.

"Well, she has just lost her father," Eames said quietly, in fear of James hearing. "It's only natural to have some rebelious attitude towards Arthur. She's probably thinking that he wants to be the new father figure in her life."

I nodded. "Smart observation."

He winked at me. "I've got plenty. For example, you hide your feelings from Arthur by trying to distract yourself with the kids."

"Eames!" I said, angrily. He smiled at my annoyance.

"It's true, love, don't deny it," he replied, slyly. I sighed and turned my attention back to the garden. Yes, I was attracted to Arthur, but I had no idea how to handle it, especially over the events of the past few weeks. I couldn't just leap in with my feelings for him after the death of his best friend.

"Eames?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think you will ever have kids?" He turned to me with an expression that made me laugh. He suddenly looked like a young boy who had been asked about kissing.

"No. Kids are...just great, but not for me."

"Fair enough. I'm going to check on Arthur," I said, standing up. As I walked into the house, I ignored Eames's pleas of help to be realised from James's grasp.

It was strange being in Cobb's house, I felt like we were indruding. Even though there was nobody to intrude on. It had been slightly awkward the past few days. We hadn't really talked about it. I wanted to. I wanted to pour out everything I was feeling about the situation at hand. They just wouldn't give me the chance.

I stopped when I realised Arthur wasn't in the living room. I looked around, confused, and decided to look upstairs.

"Arthur?" No response. I looked down the hallway and saw that only 2 doors were shut. Phillipa's and the door to Cobb's bedroom. Arthur suddenly emerged from Cobb's room and looked at me. He looked so sad and confused. I'd never seen him look so...guilty.

"What's wrong?" I asked, not taking my curious eyes from his sad ones.

"I'm such a...horrible person," he mumbled. "She hates me."

"You're not a horrible person. What happened?" I asked, moving closer to him. He sighed and rubbed his eyes from tiredness.

"I got angry at her. I didn't mean to, I just let my temper get the better of me. I said that she was a spoilt brat, and she told me she hated me." He looked up at me, helplessly. "I really hurt her feelings."


	24. Chapter 24

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"Arthur, everyone gets mad at their kids." I tried to reassure him. He shook his head.

"They're not my kids," he muttered. "They deserve better."

"What do you mean?"

He sighed. "I'm calling Cobb's lawyer. Surely these kids can have someone better to look after them."

"Are you stupid?"

We both turned to the door where Eames was standing. He looked kind of angry. He stomped in and looked Arthur straight in the eye.

"You don't realise how lucky you are. You've been given a chance to have something special, and you are being completly selfish. If Cobb had left me the kids, I would treat them like they were the world," he spat.

Arthur growled. "Well...you don't know what it's like. You could never handle this."

Eames frowned. "You don't know anything about me."

"I know enough! You can't judge me on a subject you have no experience in!"

"I LEFT HER BEFORE I COULD!" Eames yelled. Arthur backed away, confusion flooding his face. I looked at Eames, who's eyes had fallen to his feet.

"Eames, what do you mean?" I asked. He sighed and shuffled awkwardly.

"Look...it's...hard to explain." He looked up, his eyes sad. "Before I really got into this...I was...in love with this girl. I haven't seen her in 5 years."

He looked at Arthur. "When I left her, she was pregnant with my child."

I couldn't stop the small stutter that escaped my lips. That was why Eames was so uncomfortable around the kids. He had never met his own.

Arthur look down, uncomfortably. "Eames, I'm sorry...if I'd have known..."

"There was no way you could have known," Eames snapped. He sighed again. "I cut that out of my life a long time ago. It was too painful to go back to."

"Do you think you want to?" I asked, shyly. He looked at me guiltily.

"Of course I do. I have a child somewhere, Ariadne. I know I may not seem like this type of guy, but I know that there is something missing from my life. That thing is at home, waiting for their Dad." He stuttered on the last word. I nodded in empathy.

"I don't know what to do," he continued. "Lately I feel the need to...go and see them."

Arthur stepped forward. "Then I think you know what you need to do." He gave Eames a small smile.

Eames nodded and walked out of the room, leaving Arthur and I in an awkward silence. I started at the floor for a while.

"I guess I have some apologising to do," he mumbled. He walked out of the room to Phillipa's door, leaving me alone. Pondering over Eames's confession.

**I apologise for the shortness of this chapter, but the next one is MUCH longer, and it's in a different POV, so I didn't want the chapters to link.**

**Eames may or may not see his child for the first time next chapter, it's up to you guys!**


	25. Chapter 25

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**Disclaimer: Christopher Nolan is the genius behind Inception. Not me.**

**I HAVE HAD, THE MOST BRILLIANT INSPIRATION TO MAKE THIS STORY MORE EXITING. YOU WILL FIND OUT IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!**

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"Two way ticket to London Gatwick please," I said to the lady behind the desk. She handed me the documents, and I took them in my slightly shakey hand.

I couldn't take it anymore. After spending the weekend with Phillipa and James, the need to go back to England over took me. I had a child, and I needed to see it. I needed to see the love of my life again. To fill the hole in my heart that couldn't be filled with dreaming and crime.

I did feel kind of bad about leaving Arthur and Ariadne, but I'm sure they knew where I was going. I'd ring them later. For now I only had to focus on one thing.

Not becoming so nervous that I end up shitting myself.

* * *

"I can't stop thinking about Eames," I said to Arthur, who was sitting on the couch, tiredly. There was nothing on TV, so we settled for some lame, poorly made action movie.

"He tends to have that effect on women," he joked. I shoved his arm lightly.

"You know what I mean. Think about it, living your life knowing that you had a child somewhere that you had never met."

"I know, it's very...un-Eames like." He streched out his legs and placed them on the table in front of us. He looked at me with a serious expression. "Ariadne, is there anything you want to talk about?"

"What do you mean?"

"About...what happened." His eyes were serious.

"Arthur-"

"I'm serious. You can tell me anything. You love me, remember? You said that you could never truly be without me." He looked at the floor. "Or was that just talk?"

I suddenly felt angry. I had told him something very personal, and now he was doubting whether I meant it.

"I meant every word I said. Did you?" I stood up, angrily and walked out of the room, but was stopped when a hand wrapped tightly around my arm.

* * *

Shit.

Shit.

Shit.

I stood outside the decaying building. I was this close.

Explosions and car chases I could handle. Not this. As I stepped inside the lift, there were voices screaming at me inside my head to go back to LA. What if she didn't want to see me? What if she was married? What if she wouldn't let me see the kid?

The elevator pinged and the doors opened, and I couldn't stop my heart from thumping like a mad man.

What if she didn't recodnise me, or know who I am? Suddenly, I'd wished I hadn't come. I wanted to run back to the airport and jump on the nearest plane to nowhere. My mind was crying out at me to turn and walk away, but my body was still going. I reached the door with the rusty numbers, and knocked 3 times on the hard wood.

There was a moment of pure terror and nerves before the door opened from the other side. My heart stopped as I looked down.

There was a small, but beautiful little girl standing there.

My daughter.

I stood there, motionless, looking down at her. I opened my mouth to say something, but no words came out.

"Evangeline, who is it?" I heard a voice call.

Soon, a figure appeared at the door. She looked exactly the same. Her layers of dark red hair were tied back, and she looked a little tired, but she was still, so beautiful. She froze when she saw me, and looked me up and down.

"Eames."

I suddenly realised my life was in mortal danger. I left her here, pregnant, and didn't talk to her for 5 years. She was physically going to kill me.

* * *

"Arthur, leave me alone," she sighed, pulling her arm away. I kept a tight grip on it.

"I didn't mean to upset you." She turned to me and laughed.

"You don't always have an effect on me," she snapped. I don't know why, but this made me feel strange. I wanted to have an effect on her.

"Yes I do," I said firmly. She looked at me and let her mouth fall slightly. "I know I do, so don't you even try to lie to me."

I let my hand fall from her arm, expecting her to leave. She didn't. She just stood there. I don't know what came over me, but it was just the way she looked at that moment in time. Her eyes were angry and her brows were furrowed, but she looked so beautiful, so...funny. I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her closer to me. She tensed a little, but she didn't pull away. She suddenly looked very suspitious, as if I was going to tackle her or something. I laughed at her expression.

"Relax, one kiss isn't going to kill you." I pressed my forehead against hers and felt her warm breath on my cheek. I bent down and pressed my lips against hers. I was scared she was going to pull away, but then she started kissing me back. This was so much better than the Fischer job. Not rushed and risky. This was perfect.

* * *

We stood there, silent. I looked down at the little girl. She looked at me with wide eyes, kind of like I was the most interesting thing in the world.

I looked back up at Jess. She looked panicked.

"Evangeline, go inside," she said. The girl nodded and skipped inside.

"Eames...wha-...whe-" she started tearing up. I threw my bag down on the ground and wrapped my arms around her, as tight as I could. She didn't respond for a moment, but then she threw her arms around me. I felt wetness on the shoulder of my shirt and I stroked her hair.

"Jess, I'm so sorry." It was all I could say. No matter how many times I repeated the words, the feeling of guilt would not go away.

"Why did you leave?" she cried at me.

"I'm so sorry. It's so hard to explain. It started out as one job, but then it became more and more. Then it got to the point where it was...dangerous. I didn't want to put you in danger. You or..." I let my eyes fall to the floor.

"Her name is Evangeline," she said. I smiled.

"I thought you hated that name."

"Things change," she said, not quite ready to smile. "Come in."

I followed her into the flat, and I noticed that she had kept it just as I left it, more or less. She walked into the tiny kitchen and leant against the wooden surface. I stood in the doorway, staring at her.

"I still love you, you know," I said. She looked up at me. She didn't respond. I felt my heart sink.

"I wish I could say the same. That little girl has been asking me for years where her Dad is. How am I supposed to answer that?"

I sighed."I'm sorry."

"Yeah you said that already. Unfortunately, it doesn't make up for 5 years of loneliness."

I looked down and groaned.

"Do you know what happened to me a couple of weeks ago? I was kidnapped. Me and my team mates, we were taken to a warehouse in the middle of nowhere. We were tortured, beaten and my friend was killed."

She was quiet, and her hand flew to her mouth. Her eyes started watering again.

"That's why I was gone for so long. I love you too much to let anything like that happen to you."

* * *

"Is this a bad idea?"

"No, in fact, it seems like a pretty good idea," Arthur laughed. He kissed my neck again and pulled my waist closer to him. I ran my hand through his hair, messing it up. I became pressed up against the door to the bedroom and felt him open it behind me. I sat on the bed but he pushed me down so I was on my back. I felt his hands move their way from my waist to my shirt, were they began undoing the buttons. I grabbed the back of his collar and pulled him down for another kiss.

It wasn't rushed or desperate. Not like it would be with anyone else. It was undeniably perfect. After we'd finished, and we lay together under the sheets, I felt his hand wonder through my hair.

"I love you," he said, quietly, almost scared to ruin the moment.

"I love you too." There was no hesitation to my response.


	26. Chapter 26

**Please keep reviewing! It keeps the story going.**

**Disclaimer: Christopher Nolan is the genius behind Inception. Not me.**

**Thank you so much for all the reviews! It's a little sad, but everytime I get a new review, my heart beats a little faster. Anyway, contrats to Inception for 4 Oscar wins, even though I would have liked a win for Best Original Screenplay. The Kings Speech is a great movie, but it's not that original. Compared to Inception anyway. Tom Hardy won a BAFTA for Best Rising Star award, which makes me particularly proud. A home-grown actor is just what I like!**

**Anyway, this is going to be mostly Eames chapter, because Arthur and Ariadne are a little busy doing...other things. O.o**

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"Eames, I had no idea," she said, stunned to say the least.

"There was no way you could have. I'm lucky to be out alive. After I got out of the hospital, there was only one thing I needed to do. Come here. I've missed you unbearably, and I love you so much. I know it was wrong of my to leave you all alone, and I can't imagine what you must have gone through. I don't think I can ever apologise enough."

I sighed and looked down at the floor. "Anyway, I'd better go. I'm sorry if I've ruined your day." I turned to walk out, but after taking a few steps, I felt a hand pulled me back.

"You're not going anywhere." I turned around and saw Jess standing right behind me, smiling. "You can't leave...without meeting her."

I froze. Meet my daughter? I stuttered slightly. "Does...she know?"

Jess didn't move from her position, despite the closeness. "No. I told her you were away working. That someday you would come back."

"Well, that wasn't a complete lie," I joked, causing myself to smile. She held out her hand. I don't know where the sudden sign of trust came from, but I didn't hesitate when I grabbed it in mine, tightly.

She pulled me into the living room, which was familiar. It was small and not particularly amazing, and I felt a sense of guilt. I had quite a bit of money from dream work, and I could have easily sent some over to help out the situation. I decided not to bring it up.

"Do you want to tell her?" Jess asked, snapping me out of the thoughts. I shook my head quickly.

"No. You tell her," I begged. She dissapeared into a seperate room, leaving me alone. This girl was about to find out who her father was. What if she didn't like me? I suddenly had a sense of how Arthur felt after Cobb...stupid memories.

I looked up when the door opened. The small girl walked out and looked at me. Jess was behind her, waiting for a reaction. I stared at her, completly motionless. She looked...just like me. Except for the eyes, those were Jess's green ones, beyond doubt. She had a mass of curly brown hair which fell on her shoulders, and small pink cheeks.

"Umm...ur...hello." Shit, is that all I could get out? I'm surprised I didn't offer a bloody handshake. I looked at Jess pleadingly, for some form of help.

"Evangeline." She bent down to look at her I mean, _our_, daughter's face. "Do you know who this man is?"

Evangeline shook her head for a moment. But she quickly changed her mind, and walked a bit closer to me. To examine this stranger who had suddenly walked into her life. I bend down to make her more comfortable in her approach. When she was closer, I saw little hints of dimples by the side of her mouth.

She stared at me for a while, and I couldn't help but smile at her confused expression.

"Evangeline," I said, trying to sort out my communication. "You don't remember me. But I just want to say, I'm really sorry. I wasn't there when you were born, and I haven't been around for a while. I've...been working."

Suddenly, everything clicked for her. Her small mouth turned into a tiny O shape. She jumped up and threw her arms around my neck, burying her face into my shoulder. I had no idea what to do. I remained still until I realised, that this is the hole that's been empty for the past 5 years. We've both had the same hole, but it could now be filled. I picked her up and hugged her in my arms as tight as I could. I should have been doing this since the day she was born. I wasn't really planning to let go anyway.

* * *

"Phillipa, are you tired?"

I watched Phillipa as she let out another yawn over her cereal. She nodded, sleepily.

"Why, sweetie?"

"I couldn't sleep last night. There was a loud banging noise and moaning from down the hall. Like a ghost."

I choked on my coffee. I looked at Ariadne, who was blushing furiously. Images of the night before flooded my head. Admittidly, we did spend most of the night...having very loud sex. It probably wasn't the best decision on our part, but I couldn't help it. It was just one kiss. At least, thats how it started out. The passionate night of sex was improvised.

"I'm sure it wasn't a ghost," Ariadne said, burying her blush from Phillipa.

"Yeah, um, time for school."

* * *

That day was the best I'd had in a long time. Evangeline never left my side, which was rather nice. Her tiny hand fitted perfectly inside mine.

She was a chatty thing, I suppose she's like me in that sense.

She was watching TV, so I went into the kitchen were Jess was making her dinner. I leaned on the counter top and smiled at her. She looked at me, confused.

"Would you like to take a picture?" she asked, her eyebrow raised.

"Are you still in love with me?" I smirked. She looked down at the floor.

"Yes."

"You don't seem very sure about it."

She sighed. "I am. Very sure. I'm just worried."

"About?"

"I don't want to get used to the idea that you're here. You might just leave again."

I opened my mouth to speak, but she moved past me with a plate full of food. She went into the living room and placed it down in front of Evangeline. When she returned I placed my hand on her cheek and looked her right in the eyes.

"I'm not leaving. Even if I did, I would take you with me. For the sake of my sanity, I'm sticking with you from now on," I promised. We stood there for a moment, completly still, just staring at each other. She smirked and gave a small laugh.

"How many girls have you been with?"

I felt my face fall at the question. "Umm...none?"

She folded her arms across her chest. "Eames, I find it hard to believe that you haven't had any sex in 5 years."

I sighed and threw my arms up in defence. "Fine! Fine, there have been plenty of girls."

She raised her eyebrows. "Anything long term?"

I shook my head. "None of them were you."


	27. Chapter 27

**Please keep reviewing! It keeps the story going.**

**Disclaimer: Christopher Nolan is the genius behind Inception. Not me.**

**Thanks for the reviews guys! This chapter will be a little more exiting, but I have no idea how it's gonna turn out. I don't know whether this will be more Eames than Arthur or Ariadne, but again, I'm just going with the flow. Eames's daughter doesn't really say much, but I'm trying to change that.**

**Anyway, on another note, check out my blog, The Movie Review Book (the link below) where I have written a PAINFULLY long review on Inception. The more followers, the more I write, so please, COMMENT! And also, I'm seeing the Adjustment Bureau soon! Matt Damon and Emily Blunt, here I come!**

**http:/ getbusylivingforme ./?zx=dba80949e9f0399b **

**Take away the spaces in the web address.**

**One more thing, I know that in LA it's daytime, while in England with Eames it's night, but just remember there would be a time difference.**

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"So...maybe we should have kept it down last night."

I looked at Arthur from across the living room. "Yeah, maybe you're right," he smiled.

The akwardness was kind of unbearable. I cleared my throught and sat down by the kitchen table, where he soon joined.

"So, I was looking at flights back to Paris, and there is one leaving next week."

He stiffened and looked up at me. A flash of confusion crossed his face.

"Wait, you're going back to Paris?" he asked, slowly, as if it was a joke.

I nodded. "Well...yeah. I can't stay here forever."

It was silent for a moment, and he looked down at the floor for a moment. "Oh."

"Unless you can think of a reason that I shouldn't?"

He looked at me sternly. I hated it when he did that. It made me feel like a child, which I most certainly wasn't. Especially after last night.

"I can think of 3 good reasons. 1. It might not be safe for you to go back to your apartment. 2. You'd be lonely. 3. I told you that I loved you last night. You can't just walk away from that." He stared at me harshly, and I couldn't do anything but stare back. I agreed silently with all 3 reasons.

"I guess I won't go."

"I guess you won't," he said with a smug look of satisfaction on his face. I hate it when he did that as well.

I stared at the clock on the wall for a while, and then sighed loud enough for him to hear.

"I'm bored."

He looked at me, blankly for a moment, before getting the message. God, sometimes a Point Man can be so un-receptive.

"I think we can fix that," he smirked.

* * *

After a painfully long session of putting Evangeline in bed, Jess retired to the lounge, where I was sitting on the sofa.

"She's beautiful, you know," I said, smiling at her. "I can't believe I've missed out on 5 years of that."

She looked at me and winked. "Yeah, the bedtime tantrums and mealtime messes are really good memories. She's a terror. Just like you."

She sat down next to me, and I placed my arm around her. "I really can't get over it. The fact that I'm a dad."

"No, you're a father," she said. I looked down at her, confused. "There's a difference."

I looked back down at the floor. It was here, 5 years ago that I walked out on her. The look in her eyes when I walked out of the door. I had hoped that I would never see that look again.

"I love you," I said, leaning down. I pressed my lips against hers, causing her to freeze. She didn't respond for a moment, but she she relaxed and kissed my back. I had missed it so much, not being able to kiss her. We stayed like that for a moment before parting. She opened her mouth to say something, but was inturruped when the phone rang. I sighed and realeased her from my arm. She grabbed it quickly so the noise wouldn't wake Evangeline.

"Hello?" She was quiet for a moment. Her eyes flickered something that I couldn't comprehend. She looked at me and held the phone out. "For you."

I shrugged and grabbed the phone out of her hands. Probably Arthur or Ariadne.

"Hello?" I asked into the phone.

"You were not meant to see his body."

I froze. That voice sounded so familiar. So evil. I stood up and walked into the kitchen. I gripped the phone angrily.

"Who is this?" I asked. There was a deep laugh from the other end of the line.

"You know perfectly well who it is. Now shut up and listen. You were not meant to see Cobb's body. I can't have witnesses. I'm going to have to do something about that."

"Just leave everyone alone. We won't say anything, we just want to forget it."

"I said shut up. I need you to do something. Bring me Arthur and Ariadne, and I'll let you run."

I froze. No, no, I wasn't going to sell out anyone.

"No," I said harsly. There was a moment of silence.

"I think you will. Otherwise your girlfriend and daughter will have to pay for your mistake."

I gripped the phone so tight, I'm surprised it didn't break.

"I'm not selling out my friends," I growled. "I'd rather take my chances with you myself."

There was a heavy sigh. "Fine, I'll see you and your family soon. Very soon." The line went dead. I was still for a beat, then turned around to come face-to-face with Jess.

"What's going on?" she demanded.

"Listen, I can't explain right now, you have to get Evangeline. We need to run."

I walked out of the room, but she grabbed my arm. I faced her and she looked terrified. I grabbed her hand.

"Please, I'll explain later, but you have to listen to me. We need to be out of that door in 5 minutes. We're going to LA."


	28. Chapter 28

**Please keep reviewing! It keeps the story going.**

**Disclaimer: Christopher Nolan is the genius behind Inception. Not me.**

**Wow, you guys like the drama. I would have done it sooner if I had known you wanted it so much. If you ever have any specific requests then please just let me know.**

**I don't know how long this chapter will be, but I'm thinking with will be quite lengthy. Enjoy!**

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One of the advantages of working in the dream buisness is having a lot of money to spend on things like...emergency plane tickets to Los Angeles.

One of the disadvantages is having some crazed physco chasing your family and friends.

I watched Jess fall asleep on the plane, and I took the opportunity to cradle Evangeline in my arms.

"You should sleep you know," I said to her. She shook her head, and seemed to return her attention to attempting to open a packet of travel sized MnM's.

"I'm awake now," she said in her high soprano voice. Her thick accent rolled off her tongue, and I realised how long it was since I'd acaully had proper communication with other British people. Either they were American, French, Indian, Japanise...you name it. She looked up at me with her big green eyes and I couldn't help but smile.

"Where are we going?" The smile fell off my face. 'Oh nothing darling, dear old dad has just got into a bit of trouble with someone who wants to kill you.' Fucking hell.

"...Umm, to visit a friend of mine in America." She seemed less that impressed with my response.

"He has a little girl. Her name is Phillipa, she's just a bit older than you."

That perked her up a bit. Her mouth suddenly turned into a smile. There were those little dimples. "And a little boy, James." She didn't seem as impressed with that. She raised her eyebrows and shrugged.

"Boys are silly."

"Yes, they are. Now do me a favour and remember that for when you're older, yeah?" She nodded her head.

"Dad?" I think my heart melted. Oh God, how positively cliche. But seriously, this girl was adorable. How on earth was she comfortable enough with me to call me dad? I think out of me and Arthur, I would win 'who has the best little girl awards.'

"Yeah, sweetheart?"

"Do you and mummy love each other?"

I smiled. "Very much. We love you too."

"Then why aren't you married?" She asked, so bloody innocently.

I shrugged. "I don't know. We were quite young when mummy was pregnant with you- I mean...when the stalk brought you to us."

"Are you going to ever get married?"

"Probably. One day, maybe. I'd like to, but your mum..." I leaned forward to whisper into her ear. "...Has very particular tastes when it comes to boys."

_"Ladies and Gentlemen, we will be landing in Los Angeles in 10 minutes."_

I sighed. My moment of peace had ended. I placed her down in her seat and fastened her seatbelt for her. I just hoped that we would get to Arthur and Ariadne in time.

* * *

I never wanted to move from this position.

We were sitting on the couch while James and Phillipa were playing on the floor. I had my arm around Ariadne and our hands were twisted around each other so perfectly, we could have been a jigsaw puzzle. I leant over and kissed her cheek.

When I told her I loved her, I meant it. I really did love her. It didn't feel corny or dishonest, it felt right. The first time we'd met, Cobb had brought her to the warehouse for the Inception job. I didn't think that much of her, until she started to create and design. She was so talented, so passionate, she attracted me instantly. Those weeks of training her for the dream world were the best I'd ever spend preparing for a job. When Cobb said that she would be coming under with us, I was kind of...happy. Normally I would be pissed for changing the job so suddenly, but I was happy that she was coming with us. I had no desire to leave her in Paris. I had to admit, the kiss in the second level was a long-shot, but I couldn't help myself.

After the job, I was planning to keep in contact with her, but I weasled out at the airport. I couldn't talk to her apart from a small goodbye. It was so unlike me, being so nervous. I couldn't stop thinking about her for weeks, and when we were taken by Cobal, seeing her again...like that...I couldn't handle it.

Truthfully, I didn't want her to go back to Paris. I wanted to be selfish and keep her with me. I was always a good Point Man, put together, loyal, always taking orders and doing what other people wanted. No, this was for me. I couldn't let her go.

"Do you think Eames is with his family right now?" she asked, half of her attention on the TV and half of it on me. I rolled my eyes, because somehow Eames always had to inturrupt my peace one way or another.

"Probably," I mumbled into her hair. At that moment, the doorbell rang. I looked at the clock and realised it was late, and no-one would be coming around at this hour. I gave a quick glance at Ariadne and stood up.

"Stay here." As I walked to the front door, I heard her quick footsteps behind me. I sighed at her lack of ability to listen. I took the lock off the door and slowly pulled it open, just enough to see who was on the outside. I swung it open when I realised who it was.

Eames was standing there, panic and worry written on his face. Holding his hand was a little girl, couldn't have been older than Phillipa, with tired eyes. From the resemblance, I guessed it was Eames's...daughter. Next to him was a beautiful, but worried woman, holding the back of Eames's jacket.

"Arthur, we have a problem," he said, his voice stern. I opened the door fully and allowed them to walk in.

"What's wrong?" I asked. It was more of a statement than a question. He looked down at the little girl, then at Ariadne. He pointed to the woman standing next to him.

"Ariadne, this is Jess. Can you please take her and Evangeline to the next room?" he asked. Ariadne nodded, knowing the situation was serious, and guided the two into the living room. I looked at Eames.

"What?" I demanded. He looked at me gravely.

"It's Cobal. I got a call this afternoon, saying that they didn't want any witnesses. They're going to find us and kill us."

I froze.

"All of us," he added, emphasising the 'all'.

I remembered what they did to us. Beating, shooting, stabbing and burning us. Against my mind's will, I suddenly pictured James and Phillipa, the girls I knew to be Evangeline and Jess in our places. They would torture us again, creating a slow, painful death. My fist curled tightly, and I looked at the door, checking the lock.

"What do we do?" I growled. He shook his head.

"I have no idea." He looked into the living room. "I brought them here. I thought it might be safer."

"You did the right thing."

"I hope so."

I sighed. "Shit. We need to go." I stared to walk away, but a hand on my shoulder pulled me back.

"Where? They would find us anywhere we go," Eames said, his voice quiet. I nodded. It was true, staying here would be just as dangerous as going somewhere different.

I looked at him. "Do you have your gun?"

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cleverly hidden pistol. "Never go anywhere without it."

"Good, Ariadne has one upstairs. I have 2. We have our defences."

"Defences for what?"

I turned my head toward the door and saw Ariadne standing there. She looked scared, and she was eyeing Eames and I suspitiously.

"What's wrong?" she asked. I looked at Eames's gun and then back at her.

"It's Cobal. They want...they want to kill us."

She was still for a moment, then I saw the slightest hint of tears in her eyes. I went to her and threw my arms around her, hugging her tightly. I didn't care whether Eames was watching, she needed a source of comfort.

"What are we going to do?" she cried.

"We're going to stay here, we're not going to let them drive out of the house. Cobb wouldn't want that."

"We've got plenty of guns, we'll just cut off the problem at the source," Eames said, and I could hear him placing his gun back in his pocket. I let go of Ariadne and held her at arm's length. She looked at Eames.

"You mean..." I nodded. She looked at the floor and wiped her eyes. I looked behind her and saw Jess standing there awkwardly with her arms crossed across her chest. I smiled at her, realising how odd she must feel. I let go of Ariadne, but held her hand tightly. I offered my hand out to Jess.

"I'm Arthur." She held her hand out and returned my shake.

"Jess," she said, walking over to Eames. When he looked at her, there was a mixture of emotions in his eyes. Love, passion, desire, need, concern and care. It was odd seeing Eames like this.

"I'm sorry we had to meet under these circumstances."

She frowned. "I would agree, but unfortunately, I don't know what the circumstances are."


	29. Chapter 29

**Please keep reviewing! It keeps the story going.**

**Disclaimer: Christopher Nolan is the genius behind Inception. Not me.**

**Ahh, the newest instalment. I must admit, the feeling of getting a new review must be the feeling of you guys getting a new chapter alert. Some people have messaged me saying that they just can't picture Eames's girlfriend Jess. I guess that's down to my bad description, so I apologise, but if I may recommened an image? I like to think of her as rather similar to the British actress Emily Blunt. I don't know, whatever floats your boat I guess.**

**Thanks for the reviews, this story is getting a ridiculous amount of positive feedback. This chapter may not be as action filled as you had hoped, but I'm leading up to that.**

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I sat opposite the girl I knew to be Jess. She was staring down at her water, clutching the glass tightly. Arthur and Eames were in the office, planning for the un-thinkable. I fiddled with the loose strands of material on my scarf and coughed, awkwardly.

"I'm sorry for intruding on your life like this," she said, staring down at the glass. I looked at her and shook my head.

"Don't think twice about it. It's safer if we stick together. The kids seem to like the situation." I gestured into the living room where all three children were playing happily, getting along as if they had been friends forever. Children were so able to adapt, why couldn't we all have that skill? Jess looked behind her and smiled.

"I suppose." She looked at me, and I suddenly found it more comfortable when she smiled. "Your children don't look like you or Arthur, you know."

I blushed and nearly knocked the glass off the counter top. "Oh, no, they're not ours. Arthur and I aren't even married."

She laughed to herself. "That didn't stop Eames and I."

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean-"

"No, it's fine. I've had worse. Being a single mother in one of the roughest areas in London isn't a walk in the park." She smiled, gently.

I looked down at my hands. "Eames loves you very much, you know."

She nodded. "Yes, I know. He came back to me and Evangeline. He wouldn't do that if he didn't want to." Her expression quickly changed. She became serious, and she stared at me for a moment before speaking. I shuffled in my seat, uncomfortably.

"Can I ask you a question, Ariadne?"

"Shoot."

"You must answer me truthfully. Understand?" I nodded, and she continued. "Can you tell me what happened to you when you were all kidnapped?"

I stiffened. I didn't want to tell her. I didn't even want to remember it, but when I looked at her, I realised she had a right to know why she was here. I sighed.

"Jess, I assume you know what dream-sharing technology is?"

She nodded, quickly, to prove her knowlege of the subject. "Sure, PASIV, lucid dreaming, extraction...all that."

I raised my eyebrows. "Good. Well, I'm the Architect. Arthur is the Point Man. Cobb...was our Extractor. About 7 months ago, we compleated Inception."

A small flash of disbelief flashed across her eyes, but she didn't speak. I continued. "Before that, I believe Cobb and Arthur were hired to compleate an Extraction for a company called Cobal Industries. They failed, and were on the run from Cobal. After we performed Inception, we went our seperate ways. I honestly thought I would never see any of them again. I don't know what I was expecting, but I felt...let down. As if one of them would come back to Paris and see me. But no-one ever did. I was angry and lonely for a while."

I looked at her for some sign of impactience, but she seemed just as interested in my emotional feelings towards the subject than the actual facts.

"One day I came back home, and I was drugged or something because I barely remember what happened. I woke up in a room with Cobb, Arthur and Eames." I shuddered at the memory, and the feeling of coldness and pain flooded back into my body. "Cobal tortured us. It was...horrible. I was shot in the knee." I subcontiously touched my kneecap, remembering the feeling. "They placed us inside a dream. The first person to be killed in the dream and woke up, would be killed in reality. It was like some sort of sick game to them. A hunt," I hissed, feeling the hatred bubble up inside me. "Eventually, they found us. He was going to shoot me, but Arthur took the shot. Cobb...he was so...sad, I guess. His wife had died about a year ago, and now his best friend was about to be killed. I suppose that's why he shot himself before Arthur had the chance to wake up. We found his body. By then it was too late."

The image of his body threatened to appear in my head, but I shook it off. I looked at Jess, who was becoming more scared my the second, but she wanted me to go on. I sighed. "Eames said that they called him while he was with you. They want to get rid of us for seeing Cobb's body. They want to kill us."

Jess looked at me. "They can't possibly know who Evangeline and I are, or Phillipa and James!" She stuttered while speaking, and she looked at me for some sign of reassurance. Unfortunately, I just had none to give. She was still for a moment, then let her head fall into her hands.

"Oh God," she muttered, shaking her head. I reached out and grabbed her arm, and she looked up at me, eyes brimming with tears.

"Listen, I know this is unfair. You've been dragged into a situation that no-one wants to you be in. But if anyone is going to get us out of this, it's those two men in there." I gestured towards the office door, across the hall. "Eames won't let anything happen to you, or Evangeline, and Arthur won't let anything happen to me or Eames. It's going to be fine."

She let a small smile form across her mouth. I believed what I had said. Arthur and Eames wouldn't let anything happen to anyone. As for the children, I had a gun upstairs, and I would kill anyone who tried to hurt them. The sudden bloodthurst shocked me, but I liked it. It was as if all the anger and pain caused could be realised in one shot.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up and saw Arthur standing over me. He was serious, and his face was blank, like it usually was in a serious situation, but his eyes were a hint of fear. Uncertainty.

"Jess, do you know how to use a gun?" he asked. Jess looked a little shocked at his question. She shook her head furiously, as if gun was a dirty word. Arthur nodded. "Eames will teach you. We don't know what's going to happen, and we need everyone to be prepared."

He nodded to Eames. Eames grabbed her hand and escorted her to the back door. I remember the first time I was taught to use a gun, during the training for Inception. Eames had taught me for that as well.

_"Just try not to think about it too much. Shooting should be insinct, not knowlege."_

_"I look stupid."_

_"No you don't, I acually think you look rather sexy with it."_

_"I bet you use that on all the Architects."_

_"You bet I do. Now just try and point, aim and shoot."_

I never really thought I would need to use it. But those lessons paid off when I shot Mal. Perfect aim, may I add.

"Come on." I felt Arthur pull me up from the chair on which I was sitting.

"Where are we going?"

"Just come with me," he said, without looking at me. He dragged me by hand, up the stairs. Had he not been so serious, I would have guessed he was going to start a repeat of last night's episode. He pulled me into Phillipa's room and opened her closet door. Before doing anything else, he froze and looked at the floor.

"Ariadne...I need you to listen to me, and not inturrupt, because I know how stubborn you are." He walked into the closet, and for a moment, I thought he had gone insane, trying to find Narnia or something. He let his hand run down the wall, until it stopped at an invisible spot. He looked at me, before pushing on it, causing the wall to move. I leaned forward, and saw there was a small room inside. A panic room. I looked at him for some explaination.

"When I used to stay here, when I was younger and just starting out in the buisness, Cobb showed me this. He told me if there was ever any danger, or something that caused me to feel unsafe or uncomfortable, this was the place to hide." He pointed into the small room. "There is a safe in there, holding a gun, and $10,000." He reached down and grabbed my other hand, holding them up to his face. "If something happens to me or Eames, I need to you to take the kids and come in here."

I raised my eyebrow. I pushed myself away and stood at arms length. He still held my hands.

"Sure, I'll take the kids here, but I'm not going anywhere, unless you're with me."

* * *

I sighed at her.

"See what I meant about being stubborn?"

I leaned behind myself and pulled back the door of the panic room. When it was in place, it was invisible. No-one would suspect a thing. It was the perfect hiding spot.

When I was 18, and just started working for Cobb, I would stay here, since I had nowhere to go. Cobb became the brother that I never had, and Mal was my new mother figure. One time, I heard an earsplitting shatter of glass downstairs, and a cry. I couldn't think of anything but to run into the panic room. I stayed in there for half an hour, convinced that Cobb and Mal were in trouble. I was so cowardly. When Cobb came upstairs and found me, he laughed. It turned out that he had dropped a plate and it scared Mal, causing her to cry out in shock. I felt like an idiot, but he praised me for knowing what to do in a situation that could have been. As I got older, I realised there was no point of surviving in a panic room, if there was no-one to survive for. Evertime I heard a noise, I would start running downstairs, gun in hand. That just made Cobb laugh even more.

I turned back to Ariadne and pulled her back closer. I gave her a small kiss and smirked at her, just because I knew it annoyed her.

"You know, one day you're going to need help, and you'll wish you had a panic room."

She smiled and reached up to kiss my cheek. "Then you'll have to build one for me."

Later that night, I decided to put James in Phillipa's room for the night. He and Phillipa both moaned at me, but I was not budging from my decision. I tucked them under the bedsheets and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Can you guys promise me something?" They both nodded. "If you hear something, anything. A noise or a voice that you don't know, don't leave this room, ok? Just hide under the bed. Wait for one of us to come to you. Just me, Ariadne, Eames or Jess. Don't you move. Understand?"

James nodded mindlessly, but Phillipa clutched her toy. When I looked at her, I had a feeling that this wasn't the first time she had recived those instructions.

"Phillipa, understand?" She hesitated, but nodded. I bent over and kissed both of their foreheads, hoping that nothing would happen in the night to prevent me from not ever doing this again. I switched the light off and shut the door. On the way out, I saw Eames and Jess in the hall. Eames was holding Evangeline in his arms, and cradling her tightly.

"You can put her in Phillipa's room," I said, gesturing to the door. "James is in there too." Eames nodded, and returned to the whispers with his girls. I left them alone, knowing that if this was their goodbye, then they would want their privacy.

Cobal was coming for us. Most likely tonight. But I wasn't going to let them get anyone. Not now, not ever again.


	30. Chapter 30

**Please keep reviewing! It keeps the story going.**

**Disclaimer: Christopher Nolan is the genius behind Inception. Not me.**

**Greetings! So just to let you know, this isn't the finale. I'm not planning on writing the ending anytime soon. This is the only story I'm writing at the moment so I'm in no rush to end it! Hopefully this chapter is a little more action filled. I pray I don't dissapoint!**

**This is going to be in 2 parts.**

**-MM12**

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**PART 1**

"Please go to sleep."

"I can't."

I rolled over and looked up at Arthur, who looked just as awake as I did.

"There's too much to think about," I said, adjusting the pillow under my head. There was silence for a while, and I listened to the frequent ticks of the alarm clock.

"What do you think of Jess?" I asked, eyebrows raised. Arthur chuckled and shrugged. A descreate movement, since he was lying on his side.

"She's nice. What do you think of her?"

I shrugged, copying his movement. "She's alright. I'm a bit...unsure."

"About?"

"Whether I trust her."

He lifted his arm and placed his hand on mine. "Why wouldn't you trust her?"

I sighed. "Honestly I don't know. It's a habit of mine. I'm just unsure of people when I first meet them."

He smirked. "You didn't think that of me?"

"Of course I did. You just earned my trust a little quicker." I reached my head up and planted a kiss on his lips. I pulled away, but he pushing his head forward, holding the kiss for a little longer. He has scared. He could try his hardest to cover it with a tough, Point-Man facade, but I could see right through it.

* * *

"Eames, maybe you shouldn't have brought us with you."

I looked down at my gun. I was sitting on the side of the bed, unable to sleep, while Jess turned over on the uncomfortable guest matress.

"That's a stupid thing to say. I wasn't going to leave you and Evangeline there, open for them to pick off."

"You really love her, don't you?"

I looked behind me, and saw her eyes shutting slowly, letting the tiredness take over her body. I nodded.

"Yes. I do. More than I ever thought I would."

I turned back so I was facing the wall. I sighed and placed the gun in the back of my waistband.

"Look, Jess. I can never apologise enough for leaving you. I always wanted to come back, but I was too much of a coward to do it. If you'll let me, I'll stay with you for as long as you want me to. I love you, Jess...marry me."

I looked at her, and saw her eyes were shut, and she was snoring softly. I laughed to myself and turned off the light, even though I knew I wouldn't be sleeping.

* * *

"James? Evangeline?"

Phillipa looked down the bed and saw the other two sleeping deeply, accompanied my James's loud snores. She sighed and rolled over, clutching her beloved teddy bear for safety.

She wanted her Daddy. Her Mommy too. No-one would ever replace them, no matter how hard they tried. She loved Arthur, Ariadne and Eames. She felt safe with them. But at times like this, all you could really do was cry for your parents.

The situation was too familiar. Before James was born, they lived in France for a while. They had a nice house, with french shutters and roses and tulips growing everywhere. One night, she woke up, but it wasn't morning. It was still dark outside. She climbed out of her bed and went into her parent's bedroom. They weren't there. She heard loud noises coming from downstairs and shouting. Lots of shouting. She climbed down the stairs to the best of her ability. She was only 4 years old, after all. She walked into the kitchen to see her daddy holding a shiny object to a man's face. He told him to get out of the house and leave his family alone. She cried out and ran to her mommy, who was against the kitchen table, clutching her stomach. She jumped into her arms, but pulled back quickly, feeling a wet substance on her mommy's dress. Blood.

After that night, they moved to LA.

Tonight felt the same. Something was wrong and she knew it. Arthur looked sad and scared when he said goodnight to them. James was sleeping in her room. What she wouldn't give to have her mommy or daddy hug her right now. Holding her, and telling her that it was ok, and that they would see her soon.

But that would never happen.

* * *

BANG.

I froze. I felt the blood run cold in my veins. My arm reached slowly out to the bedside table, reaching for the lamp. A hand grabbed my arm back, and I turned. Arthur shook his head and placed his finger on his lips, the international sign for silence.

He climbed out of the bed slowly, and gabbed his gun from under the pillow. I could tell he hadn't slept. He had been waiting for his moment. Normally, his hair would be messed up and his pajamas would be collected and winkled.

I copied his movements and slowly clambered out of bed, grabbing a gun as well. I followed him to the door and he pushed it open. I waited for a creak in the wood, or something that would give us away, but no noise came out. It was so dark I could barely see. The only shape I could make out was Arthur's shadowy figure in front of me. There were the sounds of footsteps coming from downstairs, and the faint light from the living room lamp was radiating up the steps.

I felt a hand on my back, and I unwillingly let a small gasp escape from my lips. I spun around and felt a heavy hand cover my mouth. It was only until the figure came closer to my face that I realised it was Eames. Behind him was Jess, a fragile and frightened sight. Once my breathing and heart rate returned to normal, he realised my mouth and nodded at Arthur. Arthur continued walking, and stepped down the stairs, slowly and carefully, and I wondered for a moment whether I could walk down the stairs quietly, using the same grace and nimbleness as him.

* * *

I could hear clanging and banging from downstairs, and I knew that there was more than one person. I looked behind me and made sure that it was only Ariadne, Eames and Jess who were following.

I heard banging and noises from downstairs, and I knew there would be more than one person. I moved swiftly along the wall, and stopped when I came to the doorway. I could a moment to breath, regaining myself before we went in. Cobb always found it a strange habit of mine, but I liked to be ready for things like this. I jumped quietly into the doorway, and saw 4, maybe 5 dark figures moving around. I felt my hand along the wall and flicked the light switch. The figures froze, then shot their arms up towards me, pointing their guns my my direction. One of them wasn't holding a gun. I recodnised him immediately. He was the man who tortured us, and kept us in the room. He smiled cruelly.

Another one I recodnised was the man from the dream. The one who shot me. I felt my lip curl at him, and I clicked the safety back on my gun. I heard the others behind me do the same, but I didn't look back. I couldn't look back. I body was forcing me to face forward in the direction of the intruders.

"Nice to see you again," the smiling man said. I felt my back shiver at the sound of his voice. I contained my expression. I wouldn't let him get to me.

"Get out," I hissed. He chuckled in the back of his throat. He walked over to the fireplaces, and picked up one of the pictures from the mantle. The picture in it contained Cobb, smiling with a new-born James. The sight of the man touching Cobb's stuff made my jaw tighten.

"It's a shame, isn't it? How your best friend was taken away from his family all so sudden." He looked at me, smirking. "All because he wanted to save his beloved Point Man. You killed him Arthur. It's all your fault."

"You son of a bitch. Get out right now, and never come near us again." I struggled to keep my voice strong. The sight of this guy was making me angrier and sicker by the second.

"Or what?" he smiled. Eames stepped next to me. His expression was stoney, and he held his gun up with great force.

"Or we'll kill you. All of you," he said simply.

The man shook his head. "No, you won't."

I raised my eyebrow. "What makes you say that?"

He smirked again. "Because, Eames would never kill his true love."

It took me a second to take in that information. I furrowed my brows for a second, then let my mouth fall slightly when I realised what he meant. Jess.

The clicking of the saftey on a gun shook me back to reality. I swung around and saw Jess pointing her gun at Ariadne, her arm around her neck, holding her in place. She had this expression I had never seen her wear before. The word _evil _came to mind.


	31. Chapter 31

**Please keep reviewing! It keeps the story going.**

**Disclaimer: Christopher Nolan is the genius behind Inception. Not me.**

**Wow, such feedback! A lot of you seem to hate me now for what I did do Jess's character. I apologise, but whatever makes the story more interesting right? Anyway, I saw the Adjustment Bureau the other night...I don't recommend it. It's hardly Inception. Not even close.**

**Anyway, I'll get straight into the chapter. Enjoy!**

**EXTRA- While I was writing this, I was listening to Chopin Prelude op. 28 no.4. I think it went really well with the sadness of the chapter, so I recommened listening to it while reading.**

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It was a trick. All a trick. That's why she was so forgiving when I came back to her. That's why she wanted me to stay so badly. She did seem comfortable with the gun when I was teaching her, but I just shrugged it off. Oh God, I had led her to Arthur and Ariadne. I had practicaly showed them the way.

Both forces of guilt and betral were swimming through my mind. Everything around me froze as I looked at her. Nothing else mattered as I saw her holding a gun to one of my best friend's head. Her eyes were so evil, so emotionaly absent. I felt my heart break as I thought about Evangeline. I needed her so badly, and now she would be taken away from me.

"Jess, let her go," Arthur said, his eyes scanning the room, trying to watch the intruders as well as Jess.

"I could do...but then I wouldn't get paid." Even her voice sounded different. Her sweet and innocent tune had been changed to a dark, heartless tone.

"Jess. Please," he begged, looking at Ariadne, who was silently struggling. "You can let her go, and help us. We can forget all about this if you just put the gun down and let Ariadne go."

She laughed and held the gun tighter to her forehead. I stepped forward and held my hands up. "Jess...how..why..why would you do this to me?" I found my voice came out quietly, and with a slight stutter. I was horrified when she laugh again...at me.

"You really are that stupid aren't you? After you left I realised that life isn't fair. You have to do things for yourself. So I got myself a job in dream-sharing and eventually worked my way to Cobal. When I found out they were searching for you, that was just the best part. I wanted to help. I was angry at you. I want you to suffer." Her expression contorted into anger, and her grip on Ariadne tighened. Ariadne clawed at her arm, but Jess stayed still.

"But...I said-"

"You were sorry? Big deal. I moved on from you a long time ago. I don't love you anymore. Quite the opposite actually."

I was silent for a moment, taking in her words. She really meant it. She wanted to kill me and she wanted me to suffer, but...I couldn't understand how she could betray me like this. I heard shuffling behind me, and I saw Arthur stiffen, holding his gun towards the strangers. I did the same, ready to shoot. The leader, the same man who tortured us, stepped forward and placed his hand under his chin, as if he was in thought.

"It seems you were more prepared than expected. Maybe you're not as usless as I thought." He was still for a moment. "Maybe we shouldn't kill you after all." He clicked his fingers together. "I know, let's make a deal. 3 lives for 3 lives, eh?"

Arthur raised one eyebrow, suspitious, but intreaged. I was the same. "What do you mean?"

He man smiled. "I'll let you 3 go, if you give us the children."

"No." Arthur's reply was almost instant. A reply within a blink. The man looked at me, for a different answer, but I shook my head. He sighed.

"Fine. Kill them then. Even the young ones."

In a second, the other men moved forward, guns up. A shot rang out, and I ducked. Arthur shot his arm up and hit one of the men's shoulders, causing them to fall back. A wave of gunshots, loud noises and glass shattering shook the house. I aimed and shot at another in the chest, killing him instantly. Now was not the time to be slow. I heard a crash and I turned to see Arthur pinned against the wall by a large figure, holding him by the throat. Arthur struggled to get his arm up, so I shot the man in the shoulder. He staggered back and Arthur shot him in the head, causing blood to spill onto the floor. I heard a cry behind me and I swung around.

Jess had her gun to Ariadne's throat, and was allowing her finger to slide down the gun, coming closer and closer to the trigger. I knew she would shoot. I had to stop her. My instints controlled my body as I swung the gun in her direction. I pulled the trigger and watched as the bullet hit her in the heart. She looked at me and staggered for a moment before falling to the ground and realising Ariadne. I froze, hearing nothing but shooting behind me. I probably should have been helping Arthur, but everything inside me had slowed.

She was a bitch. A cruel, heartless bitch who deserved to die. I kept telling myself that, trying to make it sink in. It wasn't as romantic as it should have been. It was just me, my gun, and her blood-covered body on the ground. I didn't run to her and hold her in my arms. We didn't confess our undying love for each other. I couldn't of, because the love that we had was long gone. The love I thought we had was a lie.

Eventually, the shooting behind me stopped, and soon all we were left with was a bunch of dead bodies. All bar one.

"Well done." I turned and saw the man standing over the bodies of his dead men. Not even caring. Arthur and Ariadne were next to me, and Arthur was still holding his gun up, aiming at his head.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he warned, holding up his finger in Arthur's direction. Arthur smirked.

"Give me one good fucking reason why I shouldn't kill you?" he replied, his clutch on the gun becoming tighter. The man laughed.

"Because I have this." The man reached into his jacket and pulled out a small black object. On closer inspection, it looked like a small box...a detonator.

Arthur let his arm fall instantly. None of us moved. The only other time I had seen something like that was on the Fischer job, when planting the explosions on the hospital level.

"It's set for 3 minutes. I just want to play one last game." He smiled. "It's a race."

His finger hovered over the small button for a moment, then pressed down on it. The beeping noise started.

"Have fun."


	32. Chapter 32

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN INCEPTION.**

**First off, I think I owe an apology. I wrote the last chapter of the story, and I opened a word document to write the new one, and I went blank. I was like "Oh, hang on…they actually have to escape?". I put myself in a rather tricky situation story wise, so I kind of left it. That was really un-professional and unfair to all of you who were vividly following the story. So here it is, and I really hope I haven't lost my stride too much. **

* * *

I pushed my way through the crowd, keeping a tight grip on my sanity. I must have looked a mess, but with my attitude, nobody would dare mess with me. I was hungry and thirsty, but I had no money to speak of, and I needed to make sure I was at the right place at the right time.

My life had become so fucked up.

**3 WEEKS LATER-**

_"It's set for 3 minutes. I just want to play one last game." He smiled. "It's a race."_

_His finger hovered over the small button for a moment, then pressed down on it. The beeping noise started._

_"Have fun."_

_I felt a tight hand on mine pull me towards the door. _

"_Ariadne, wait here," Arthur's panicked voice ordered. I kept a tight grip on his arm. He looked at me, eyes pained with fear. "Ariadne, please."_

_I felt him slip from my grasp as he and Eames disappeared up the stairs, leaving me in a dangerous silence. My first instinct was to run. We had limited time before we were all killed. But my head screamed accusations at me. _

"_Coward!"_

"_Baby!"_

"_Wimp!"_

_I was determined to wait. I wasn't leaving anyone behind no matter how desperate the situation. _

"_Please, hurry…" I silently prayed. I leaned against the wall and screwed my eyes shut tightly, counting how many seconds I had left._

_1..._

_2..._

_3..._

_4..._

_5..._

_24..._

_25..._

_26..._

"_Ari!" _

_I opened my eyes and saw Phillipa standing in front of me. No Arthur. She grabbed my hand and pulled me away. _

"_Uncle Arthur said we need to go!" she cried, tugging on my hand, pulling me towards the front door. I shook my head. "Where is he?" I demanded._

"_He said he was coming! He said we needed to go, now!" _

* * *

Why were train stations so fucking crowded?

3 weeks without Arthur were the worst of my life. I had no idea if he was alive, let alone where he was. I realised over those weeks how much he was to me. Support, reassurance, anything to keep me grounded. If all things were according to plan, we were meeting up today. I tried to ignore the screaming voices in my head, all shouting the same thing.

Life doesn't always go according to plan.

* * *

"_I…I…" I mindlessly stammered, subconsciously debating about what would be the right thing to do. Her small hand tugged on mine desperately, bringing me closer and closer to the front door. _

"_Please!" she yelled. I looked behind me once more and broke on myself. I let her drag me outside, the cold air hitting me like a train._

_Arthur. Arthur. Arthur. Arthur. Go back._

_I knew I couldn't go back. My body was pulling me further and further away. I couldn't even make my head turn back to see whether anyone was there or not. I was simply going along with myself, like a robot._

* * *

The more I think about it, I finally start to realise the precise moment where my life started to turn this way.

"_Mr Cobb has a job offer he'd like to discuss with you."_

Bingo. That was it. The exact moment where everything started going nuts. I couldn't stop imagining how this would have been avoided. What if I hadn't gone to class that day? What if I had left the classroom 10 minutes later? What if Professor Miles considered someone else for the job? All these things would have simply avoided this turn in life.

But the more I think about it, the more I realise that I didn't want to avoid this turn in life. That was the moment my life became crazy, but it was also the moment I actually started living. Becoming introduced to this world that people can only dream of. No pun indented. But that moment in my life, led me to Cobb, to Arthur, to the PASIV, to the Inception, to the next job, and the next, and the next, then to the kidnapping, then to the torture, then to the escape, then to the hospital, then straight back to Arthur, to now.

If there was one thing I was absolutely certain about, it was that I had no idea where it was going to led me to next.

* * *

_Walking without direction is pretty insane. I just kept walking, and counting in my head._

_44..._

_45..._

_46..._

_47..._

_I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I jumped back. I swung around and saw Eames, Evangeline in his arms and James by his side. Again, no Arthur._

"_You ok?" he asked, sounding slightly out of breath. I looked behind him and stiffened._

"_Where's Arthur?" I demanded. _

_He looked at me blankly._

"_Where is he?" I asked again. He put his hand on my shoulder, but I flinched away._

"_He's gone to do something."_

_I stared at him in disgust. Do something? How can he be so fucking vague at this point in time? _

"_Eames, where is he?"_

"_Ariadne, he'll be fine," he mumbled. "He went after-"_

"_No!" I quickly and angrily moved forward back to the house, but I felt a restricting arm around my waist. _

"_Ariadne! He had to go and kill him! To end this! It's fine! He said he'd be fine!"_

"_We shouldn't have left him!" I screamed furiously. "You shouldn't have left him!"_

_And just like that, everything in front of me was gone. Cobb's house went up in a fiery flame so quickly. I've never gone so quiet in my life._

* * *

I shivered.

I looked at all these people, taking their morning commute to work, trying to ignore the tired looking girl with the broken heart.

Nobody had any clue how complicated things can be. All they care about are their own lives. What type of coffee they'll drink, when their next train is, even what they'll wear tomorrow. At that moment, I was only focused on one thing.

I breathed in when we walked out onto the street taking in the fresh air that I had been deprived of on a two hour train journey. Next move.

* * *

_Eames quietly coughed to himself as he looked at me. _

"_He said, to disappear."_

_I looked at him, too tired to care. Too frightened to question. Too occupied with smelling the burning air to listen._

_He continued. "I'll take the kids. Go to the nearest station, airport whatever and get yourself out of here for 3 weeks. Arthur said splitting up is our only way of staying off the map."_

_I flinched at his name._

"_Arthur told me to give you this address." He handed me a small, torn note. I looked at it and read the small frantically scribbled writing, clearly done in a moment of panic. "He'll meet you there."_

_If he's still alive._

"_I'm sorry, Ariadne," Eames whispered. He did nothing but place his hand on my arm for a few seconds. "I'll see you soon. Stay safe."_

_He left. He took the kids, but left me. _

_I started moving again, hoping to hear Arthur's voice, but nothing happened._

* * *

This was where I ended up. Here, standing on the curb, praying on an address, a time, a date and a hope that I would see somebody.

The bitterness at the back of my brain taunted me. He won't be there. You can wait for as long as you want, but he won't come.

That voice was replaced by Arthur's.

_"Ariadne, don't scream. Don't give them that satisfaction. You're far stronger than any of them." _

"_I'm right here, and we're going to do this together. Understand?"_

_"Relax, one kiss isn't going to kill you." _

"_I love you."_

I sighed to myself. "I love you, Arthur."

"…Good to know."

I stiffened and swung around.

No. Surely this is a projection? A memory? This can't be Arthur.

Arthur stared at me and I stared right back. Remembering to breath, I inhaled.

"…Is…it really you?" I stuttered in disbelief.

"Yes."


	33. Chapter 33

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN INCEPTION.**

**The Ending. Nice and Cheesy. Epilogue to follow.**

I've never moved so fast in my life. Within seconds, we were holding each other tightly together in our arms. I didn't give a shit if people were staring. They would have to watch. But I wasn't letting go, not for anything. I didn't know what point I started crying, but I came to the realisation that I was sobbing into his shirt. I felt his warm hands trail up my back and into my hair, making sure I was all there. This had to be real. Projections didn't feel like this.

"…I'm so sorry for leaving you," he mumbled.

I didn't respond. I didn't want to. There were some times when words didn't matter. You just ruin things by saying something stupid. I felt hands on my cheeks turning my face up. Within seconds I felt our lips collide. I snaked my arms up and around his neck, breaking all chance he had of moving away. I felt my heart flutter, like that feeling you get when you're on a roller coaster. Only, there was no roller coaster. It was just Arthur, crushing his lips against mine, trying to make some sense of what had happened to us.

He pulled away, pressing our foreheads together.

"It's over, Ariadne. I promise you, it's over."

I sighed, half-heartedly. "You can't promise that. It's what comes with dreaming. This weird way of life."

He kissed my hair. "But it doesn't matter. Because we'll be together. That I _can _promise."

"I get the feeling you've been in situations like this before."

He paused. "…Countless times. But, mostly with Cobb…" he trailed off. "He said it would always be like this. I've just grown used to the idea."

"I've been a mess without you."

"Because you were lonely?" he asked, hurtfully.

"No…because you hold me together. You're my best friend, Arthur."

We shared another kiss before he pulled away, smiling. "I love you."

"I love you too."

He trailed his fingers through mine. "We should probably start moving."

"Where are we going?"

He furrowed his brow. "Not sure yet."

"You're not sure of something? That's a first," I smirked.

"It's alright. I'm being imaginative, as Eames would put it." His expression changed into serious. "We should probably find Eames and the kids."

"Probably."

"Wait."

I stopped and reached into my pocket. He stared at me as I pulled out my totem and stared at it. I could tip it. I could make an attempt to be certain of my reality. But then again, I might not like the result. For once in what seemed like a long time, everything was right. Everything was how it was supposed to be. Why test it?

I glanced at Arthur. He stared at me intently.

"Arthur, is this real?"

He never left my gaze. "Yes."

I smiled. "Then that's all I need to know."

I shoved the bishop back into my jeans and continued to walk with Arthur. Yes, I've looked at it many times since, itching to tip it. I have the answer to what it real, but I refuse to find out the truth. Because, if this is a dream, then it's a dream much better than reality, whatever that may be.

Arthur often tells me that Cobb would be proud of me.

I tell him the same thing.


	34. Chapter 34

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN INCEPTION.**

**Thank you for everyone who has read this story. Your countless reviews and support has made this one my best. I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it. I doubt I'll do a sequel, mainly because I don't want to carry this on. I like where I've left the characters, and I think that I'd rather it was left this way.**

**Here's the epilogue I promised. Again, many thanks to all readers! It could not have been done without you!**

I know it seems crazy. I killed myself to save Arthur, but he's my best friend. Countless years of loyalty and sacrifice from him, and he never asked for anything in return. I guess it was just the ultimate thank you.

I see how happy he is with Ariadne and the kids, and I know I made the right choice.

Of course I miss James and Phillipa. Nothing breaks my heart more to know that I'll never be able to talk to them or hold them again. But I'll always watch over them, and I know Arthur will too.

I wasn't going to take Arthur away from Ariadne. I know what it's like to love someone. I wasn't going to allow them to be ripped apart. It wasn't fair to either of them.

Ariadne saved me. She brought me back to reality a long time ago, and I don't think I could have ever thanked her enough for that. Without her, I wouldn't have got my kids back.

It was always going to be me, anyway. The one to die. I wouldn't have let that happen to Eames or Ariadne anymore than Arthur.

Yes, that whole situation was crazy. Terrifyingly crazy, but it was nothing new to me. That type of thing has happened countless times. I just hope the others know that there's a good chance something like that will happen again.

Looking back, my life wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was. I would do it all over again in a heart beat. Because I got to do something that few people can do. Dream.

Sure, it had it's consequences, but that's life. Somehow, it's all worth it.

Because, as a good friend of mine put it,

_There's _

_nothing _

_quite _

_like _

_it._


End file.
